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Investigation on the interaction between shoulder and tail cavities under vertical launching conditions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 August 2025

Zeyu Ren Open the ORCID record for Zeyu Ren [Opens in a new window] ,
Xiaogang Wang Open the ORCID record for Xiaogang Wang [Opens in a new window] ,
Xiaobo Quan Open the ORCID record for Xiaobo Quan [Opens in a new window]  and
Shaohua Cheng Open the ORCID record for Shaohua Cheng [Opens in a new window]
Zeyu Ren
Affiliation:
School of Astronautics, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, PR China
Xiaogang Wang*
Affiliation:
School of Astronautics, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, PR China
Xiaobo Quan
Affiliation:
Beijing Institute of Astronautical Systems Engineering, Beijing 100076, PR China
Shaohua Cheng
Affiliation:
Beijing Institute of Astronautical Systems Engineering, Beijing 100076, PR China
*
Corresponding author: Xiaogang Wang, wangxiaogang@hit.edu.cn
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Abstract

This study investigates the fluid mechanisms underlying the interaction between ventilated shoulder and tail cavities under vertical launching conditions. It is found that expansion and contraction coexist within the tail cavity. When the expansion rate exceeds the contraction rate, the volume of the tail cavity increases; conversely, it decreases. Through this process, the cavity undergoes cyclic pulsation during its vertical evolution, including expansion, over-expansion, contraction and over-contraction. Before the shoulder cavity extends to the position of the tail cavity, wall confinement restricts the tail cavity from expanding towards the vehicle’s lateral wall. After the encounter between the shoulder and tail cavities, the re-entrant flow at the end of the shoulder cavity induces the tail cavity to overcome wall confinement and expand towards the lateral wall, initiating their fusion. As a result, a supercavity forms and attaches to the surface of the vehicle. Moreover, after the fusion, the pressure driving mode at the vehicle’s bottom wall shifts from the tail cavity pulsation to the re-entrant flow. In addition, an increase in the ventilation rate induces progressive expansion of the shoulder cavity’s radial dimension, and accelerates its downstream propagation. The fusion mode between the shoulder and tail cavities transitions from progressive fusion to coverage fusion.

JFM classification

Drops and Bubbles: Cavitation Multiphase and Particle-laden Flows: Multiphase flow Drops and Bubbles: Bubble dynamics

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JFM Papers
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Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 1016 , 10 August 2025 , A45
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© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press

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Figure 26. Comparison between the numerical simulation and experimental results of the ventilated shoulder cavity
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