Dependence of supercavity closure upon flow unsteadiness

The present work reports some interesting experimental results for ventilated supercavitation in an unsteady flow. Our experiments have shown that incoming flow unsteadiness does not only affect supercavity shape but also leads to a change in supercavity closure, irrespective of the presence of a body inside the supercavity. Synchronized high-speed imaging and pressure measurements have ascertained the dependence of supercavity closure on instantaneous cavitation number under unsteady flow conditions. Further, control-volume analysis at the closure shows the intricate relation among the cavitation number, pressure difference occurring at the supercavity closure and the obtained closure mechanisms.