Numerical simulation of cavitation characteristics of a pump-jet propeller

The cavitation hydrodynamic performance of a pump-jet propeller was calculated and analyzed with the mixture homogeneous flow cavitation model based on Rayleigh-Plesset equations and sliding mesh. The effects of different rotational speed, cavitation number and flow velocity on cavitation characteristics of the pump-jet were studied. When the cavitation occurred on the blades, the propeller thrust and torque decreased significantly, thereby causing an open water efficiency decrease of 15%. For the same cavitation number, as the rotational speed increased, the pump-jet propeller blade cavitation phenomenon was more obvious. While for the same rotational speed, the smaller the number of cavitation, the more remarkable the cavitation phenomenon was. However, when the cavitation number was greater than a certain value, the blade cavitation phenomenon disappeared.