Study of nuclei distribution and vortex diffusion influence on nuclei capture by a tip vortex and nuclei capture noise

Earlier studies of cavitation nuclei behavior in the presence of a Rankine tip vortex have shown that the nuclei is attracted or captured by the vortex pressure field and during this process noise is produced by the rapid nuclei growth. The present paper extends the study of others, where the capture of nuclei by the tip vortex was characterized by an index N depending on the nuclei radius, initial location and the vortex circulation. The nuclei distribution effected by this process is formulated and the frequency of nuclei capture is derived in terms of the nuclei distribution N(R). The influence of the tip vortex axial diffusion on the nuclei capture process is formulated and numerical results presented to show the degree vortex diffusion delays the nuclei capture. Finally the paper closes with a discussion of the numerical simulation of the nuclei capture and noise generation by the tip vortex