A viscous/inviscid interaction method for predicting the effect of viscosity on the performance of wetted and cavitating propulsors is presented. The emphasis is placed on steady wetted and cavitating propulsor flows. A three-dimensional low order potential based boundary element method is strongly coupled with a two dimensional integral boundary layer analysis method based on the strip theory assumption. The influence of viscosity on the outer inviscid flow is modeled through the wall transpiration model by distributing “blowing” sources on the propulsor blade and trailing wake surfaces. The boundary layer edge velocities are expressed as the sum of the inviscid edge velocity and a correction which depends only on the boundary layer variables. The influence of outer potential flow on the inner boundary layer flow is considered through the edge velocities. In the case of sheet cavitation, a “thin” cavity approach is employed and the viscous/inviscid interaction method is applied on the blade surface underneath the cavity. On the cavity surface, the friction force coefficient is forced to be zero. Numerical predictions by the present viscous/inviscid interaction method are presented for open, ducted, and water-jet propulsors. For water-jet propulsors, the flow is solved in an iterative manner by solving the rotor and stator problems separately and by considering the time-averaged effects of one component on the other. Predicted forces, pressure distributions, and boundary layer variables are compared with those predicted by other numerical methods and experimental measurements. / text

La cavitation est l'un des phénomènes physiques les plus contraignants influençant les performances des machines hydrauliques. Il est donc primordial de savoir prédire son apparition et son développement, et de quantifier les pertes de performances qui lui sont associées. L'objectif de ce travail est de développer un algorithme 3D instationnaire pour la simulation numérique de la cavitation dans le code industriel « Code_Saturne ». Il est basé sur la méthode à pas fractionnaires et préserve le principe du minimum/maximum sur le taux de vide. Un solveur implicite, basé sur l'équation de transport du taux de vide couplée avec les équations Navier-Stokes est proposé. Un traitement numérique spécifique des termes sources de cavitation permet d'obtenir des valeurs physiques du taux de vide (entre 0 et 1) sans aucune limitation artificielle. L'influence des modèles de turbulence RANS sur la simulation de la cavitation est étudiée sur deux types de géométries 2D (Venturi et Hydrofoil). Cela confirme que la modification de Reboud et al. (1998) appliquée aux modèles à viscosité turbulente à deux équations, k-epsilon et k-omega-SST, permet de reproduire les principales caractéristiques du comportement instationnaire de la poche de cavitation. Le modèle du second ordre RSM-SSG, basé sur le transport des contraintes de Reynolds, se révèle capable de reproduire le comportement instationnaire de l'écoulement sans aucune modification arbitraire. Les effets tridimensionnels intervenant dans les mécanismes d'instabilité de la poche sont également analysés. Ce travail nous permet d'aboutir à un outil numérique, validé sur des configurations d'écoulements cavitants complexes, afin d'améliorer la compréhension des mécanismes physiques qui contrôlent les effets instationnaires tridimensionnels intervenants dans les mécanismes d'instabilité. / Cavitation is one of the most demanding physical phenomena influencing the performance of hydraulic machines. It is therefore important to predict correctly its inception and development, in order to quantify the performance drop it induces, and also to characterize the resulting flow instabilities. The aim of this work is to develop an unsteady 3D algorithm for the numerical simulation of cavitation in an industrial CFD solver « Code_saturne ». It is based on a fractional step method and preserves the minimum/maximum principle of the void fraction. An implicit solver, based on a transport equation of the void fraction coupled with the Navier-Stokes equations is proposed. A specific numerical treatment of the cavitation source terms provides physical values of the void fraction (between 0 and 1) without including any artificial numerical limitation. The influence of RANS turbulence models on the simulation of cavitation on 2D geometries (Venturi and Hydrofoil) is then studied. It confirms the capability of the two-equation eddy viscosity models, k-epsilon and k-omega-SST, with the modification proposed by Reboud et al. (1998) to reproduce the main features of the unsteady sheet cavity behavior. The second order model RSM-SSG, based on the Reynolds stress transport, appears able to reproduce the highly unsteady flow behavior without including any arbitrary modification. The three-dimensional effects involved in the instability mechanisms are also analyzed. This work allows us to achieve a numerical tool, validated on complex configurations of cavitating flows, to improve the understanding of the physical mechanisms that control the three-dimensional unsteady effects involved in the mechanisms of instability.