URANS and LES driven design of a high Reynolds number hydrofoil experiment

Full-scale experiments of a naval hydrofoil under cavitating flow conditions in erosive regimes are challenging due to the high dynamic loads. An a priori computational design of experiments is performed to assess the forces and map the cavitation regimes across a wide parameter space prior to full-scale experiments at Reynolds numbers exceeding 1 × 10 7 in the U.S. Navy's William B. Morgan Large Cavitation Channel. We employ both a computationally expedient unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes model and high-fidelity large-eddy simulation to explore the effects of angle of attack, cavitation number, and Reynolds number on the cavitating flow. The former is used to efficiently sweep the parameter space and map the cavitation regimes, while the latter is reserved for pertinent dynamic conditions where experiments are desired. Both simulation methodologies effectively capture key quantities of interest, such as cavity length, drag, lift, and moment coefficients, when compared to concurrent scaled experiments and full-scale tests conducted only after the design was finalized. Statistical and spectral analyses of global quantities are used to identify four distinct cavitation regimes. Based on the force analysis and mapping, an angle of attack of − 2 ∘ and a cavitation number of approximately 0.42 are identified as highly erosive conditions, with a cavity length of about half the chord length, all within acceptable facility constraints when a Reynolds number of 5.0 × 10 7 is achieved. • URANS and LES simulations were conducted to design an experiment. • Simulations considered a range of cavitation numbers and angles of attack. • Results were validated against large- and small-scale experimental data. • Global forces, probabilistic, and spectral analyses were used for mapping. • Four distinct cavitation regimes were mapped.