Numerical Study of Cavitation in Cryogenic Fluids

Numerical simulations of cavitation in liquid nitrogen and liquid hydrogen are presented; they represent a broader class of problems where the fluid is operating close to its critical temperature and thermal effects of cavitation are important. A compressible, multiphase formulation that accounts for the energy balance and variable thermodynamic properties of the fluid is described. Fundamental changes in the physical characteristics of the cavity when thermal effects become significant are identified; the cavity becomes more porous, the interface less distinct, and it shows increased spreading while getting shorter in length. The heat transfer model postulated in variants of the B-factor theory, where viscous thermal diffusion at the vapor-liquid interface governs the vaporization, is shown to be a poor approximation for cryogenic fluids. In contrast the results presented here indicate that the cavity is sustained by mass directly convecting into it and vaporization occurring as the liquid crosses the cavity interface. Parametric studies for flow over a hydrofoil are presented and compared with experimental data of Hord (1973, “Cavitation in Liquid Cryogens II—Hydrofoil,” NASA CR-2156); free-stream velocity is shown to be an independent parameter that affects the level of thermal depression.