Large-Eddy Simulation of Cavitating Tip Leakage Vortex Structures and Dynamics around a NACA0009 Hydrofoil

The tip leakage vortex (TLV) has aroused great concern for turbomachine performance, stability and noise generation as well as cavitation erosion. To better understand structures and dynamics of the TLV, large-eddy simulation (LES) is coupled with a homogeneous cavitation model to simulate the cavitation flow around a NACA0009 hydrofoil with a given clearance. The numerical results are validated by comparisons with experimental measurements. The results demonstrate that the present LES can well predict the mean behavior of the TLV. By visualizing the mean streamlines and mean streamwise vorticity, it shows that the TLV dominates the end-wall vortex structures, and that the generation and evolution of the other vortices are found to be closely related to the development of the TLV. In addition, as the TLV moves downstream, it undergoes an interesting progression, i.e., the vortex core radius keeps increasing and the axial velocity of vortex center experiences a conversion from jet-like profile to wake-like profile.