Study on the experiment and numerical simulation of cavitation flow mechanisms at different flow rates in water-jet propulsion pumps

Abstract Cavitation is an important factor causing vibration and noise of water-jet pump. High-performance ships require water-jet pumps with high efficiency and low noise at high speeds. At present, the cavitation flow phenomenon and interference mechanism of the water-jet pump under different flow rates are not clear enough. This paper takes the mixed-flow water jet propulsion pump as the research object. The flow structure of the cavitation vortex of the water-jet pump under different flow rates was obtained by high-speed photography (HSP). Through comparison of numerical simulation and test results, the cavitation performance curves and cavitation flow structures of the water jet pump under five different flow rates were obtained. The influence of cavitation vortex structure on the performance of water-jet pump under different flow rates was obtained. The correlation between cavitation performance and cavitation vortex structure under different flow rates was established. This research work will help to understand the impact of the cavitation vortex structure of the water-jet pump under different flow rates and capture the evolution law of the cavitation vortex structure of the water-jet pump under different flow rates. And provide reference for improving the cavitation performance of water-jet pumps.