Experimental and theoretical investigations of a supercavitating hydrofoil

An experimental investigation of the two-dimensional hydrodynamic characteristics of a thin, supercavitating hydrofoil is described. The effects of twist and vibration of the thin hydrofoil model are considered, and experimental techniques for investigating spanwise twist and leading edge vibration and data correction methods are described. The theory of Wu for the forces on fully cavitating hydrofoils was used to calculate the forces on this profile. The calculated lift is in good agreement with the experimental results; however, the measured drag differs appreciably from the theoretical values.