Numerical study of unsteady cavitation on 2D NACA0015 hydrofoil using free/open source software

The free/open source software as OpenFOAM, Salome meshing and python language under Debian Linux system are evaluated to model unsteady cavitating turbulent flow around a NACA0015 hydrofoil. Based on the cavitation model proposed by Kunz and large eddy simulation (LES) method, we denote the benefits of free software and open source tools as an alternative to proprietary software of computational fluid mechanics, and provided a modified cavitation model to improve numerical accuracy. The simulation results of typical break-off cycle for cavitation shedding are compared to available experimental data, and validated using image processing to find percentage of similarities. The sheet cavity frequency of 7.752 Hz was obtained based on cavitation evolution and pressure fluctuations. The study gives relevant information for CFD software development in the future.