On the influence of viscous effects on 2-D cavitating vortices

This paper describes the influence of viscous effects on an axisymmetric cavitating vortex in 2-D viscous incompressible flow for steady and unsteady conditions. A computational model is presented that solves for radius of the cavity and the circumferential velocity distribution in the fluid. Results are shown for the relation between cavity radius and cavitation number for steady flow including a comparison with experimental data. Unsteady simulations show that viscous effects have an influence on the resonance frequency of the cavitating vortex and show how the vortex cavity and circumferential velocity behave when subjected to a change in pressure at the outer boundary.