Experimental Study of Un-Stationary Tip Vortex Cavitation

This study presents an experimental approach to study the dynamics of tip vortex cavitation. The selected case study is a four-bladed model-scale controllable pitch propeller tested under specific flow and operational conditions. The proposed method integrates high-speed video recordings with advanced computer vision techniques to quantitatively assess the characteristics of cavitating vortex dynamics, focusing in particular on the variation of vortex volume as a function of the propeller blade’s angular position. The results demonstrate that the proposed approach enables precise measurements of vortex dynamics, offering valuable insights for future investigations. Specifically, direct access to these measurements may facilitate the study of how vortex cavitation dynamics influence the spectral characteristics of radiated noise. Such insights are crucial for developing and validating underwater noise spectrum predictive models that comprehensively describe the noise sources.