Transient Simulation of Cavitation in a Turbopump Inducer

This paper investigates the transient behavior of the cavitation process inside a three-bladed flat-plate inducer and how it can be influenced by the introduction of flow co-rotation in the inducer inlet by means of tangential fluid injection. The models necessary for the reproduction of the transient behavior of a cavity forming at the leading edge are implemented in the OpenFOAM software package and validated against experimental data from literature. The generated numerical setup is then applied to the inducer geometry. The transient 3D simulation of the complete inducer indicates that the introduction of inlet flow co-rotation in the vicinity of the blade tips by means of tangential fluid injection leads to a reduction in vapor content in the simulation domain alongside an alteration of the pressure fluctuations detected in the inducer outlet and thereby the transient forces acting on the inducer blades.