Numerical simulation of cavitation by sub-surface vortex (2nd report, theoretical modeling of unsteady vortex cavitation)

Ito, Kei; Ezure, Toshiki ; Ohno, Shuji  ; Kamide, Hideki 

The prevention of vortex cavitation is one of key issues in the study on a large-scale sodium-cooled fast reactor in Japan (JSFR). In this paper, the theoretical modeling of an unsteady vortex cavitation is proposed. In this model, the cavitation behavior in a strong sub-surface vortex is calculated based on the axisymmetric unsteady Navier-Stokes (N-S) equation. Then, the cavitating radius is determined by comparison of the calculated pressure with vapor pressure. As a basic test of this model, vortex development and resulting cavitation are calculated. The results show that the growth of the cavitating region with the development of circumferential can be calculated.