Optical Observation of the Supercavitation Induced by High-Speed Water Entry

When a high-speed projectile penetrates into water, a cavity is formed behind the projectile. The gas enclosed in the cavity experiences a nonequilibrium process, i.e., the gas pressure decreases as the projectile moves more deeply into water. As a result, the cavity is sealed near the free surface (surface closure) and subsequently the cavity breaks up in water (deep closure). Accompanying the break-up of the cavity, secondary shock waves appear. This is the so-called supercavitation in water entry. This paper describes an experimental investigation into the water entry phenomenon. Projectiles of 342 m/s were generated from a small-bore rifle that was fixed vertically in the experimental facility. The projectiles were fired into a windowed water tank. A shadowgraph optical observation was performed to observe the entry process of the projectile and the formation and collapse of the cavity behind the projectile. A number of interesting observations relating to the motion of the free surface, the splash, the underwater bubbly flow and so on were found. [S0098-2202(00)00204-2]