Assessment of cavitation models for computation of unsteady cavitating flows

To investigate the application of the Kubota and Singhal cavitation models for unsteady cavitating flows, the cloud cavitating flow around a Clark-Y foil is numerically simulated by using the two cavitation models, respectively. The predictive capability of the two cavitation models is assessed with experimental results of the cavity flow structure, including the average velocity and vorticity. It is shown that the results based on the Singhal model are more accordant with the experimental phenomenon. The Singhal model can capture the detailed process of the vortex shedding in the rear part of the cavitation region, which is observed in the experiment.