The inception cavitating flows over an axisymmetric body with a blunt headform

The inception cavitating flows around a blunt body are studied based on flow visualizations and velocity field measurements. The main purpose of the present work is to study the incipient cavity evolution and the interplay between the inception cavitation and the local turbulent flows. A high-speed video camera is used to visualize the cavitating flow structures, and the particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique is used to measure the velocity field, the vorticity, and the Reynolds stresses under non-cavitating and inception cavitating flow conditions. It is found that the appearance of visible cavities is preceded by the formation of a cluster of micro-bubbles not attached to the body surface and in a hairpin-shaped vortex structure. During its evolution, the cavity moves downstream with a lower speed. The effect of the incipient cavity is significant on the local vortical structures but slight on the time-averaged velocity distribution. The mean Reynolds stress distributions in the turbulent shear flow can be substantially altered by the incipient cavities. The presence of the incipient cavities can lead to the production of turbulent fluctuations.