An Approximate Numerical Scheme for the Theory of Cavity Flows Past Obstacles of Arbitrary Profile

Abstract

Recently an exact theory for the cavity flow past an obstacle of arbitrary profile at an arbitrary cavitation number has been developed by adopting a free-streamline wake model. The analysis in this general case leads to a set of two functional equations for which several numerical methods have been devised. Some of these methods have already been successfully carried out for several typical cases on a high-speed electronic computer. In this paper an approximate numerical scheme, somewhat like an engineering principle, is introduced which greatly shortens the computation of the dual functional equations while still retaining a high degree of accuracy of the numerical result. With such drastic simplification, it becomes feasible to carry out this approximate numerical scheme even with a hand-computing machine.