An Experimental Study of The Hydroelastic Instability of Supercavitating Hydrofoils

Some experimental findings concerning the flutter characteristics of two-dimensional supercavitating flat plate hydrofoils are reported herein. The experiment was carried out in a freejet water tunnel using wedge-shaped hydrofoils (practically rigid) elastically supported to permit two-degree of freedom motions in translational and rotational modes. Critical flutter speed, flutter frequency, flutter amplitude ratio, and damping factor were measured for various elastic and flow conditions. The measured stability boundary curves agree, qualitatively,with an existing linear theory.