Investigation of a Low-Drag Partially Cavitating Hydrofoil: Water Tunnel Tests

This project is based on a request made to the Saint Anthony Fall Laboratory by Dr. Eduard Amromin on behalf of Mechmath, Inc. The work was performed under a sub-contract as part of a Phase I SBIR contract with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). Details of the design are supplied in the progress report from Mechmath and Amromin et al (2003). This hydrofoil is designed to take advantage of the drag reduction that would be possible with a stabilized cavity on the suction side of the profile. In the configuration currently under review the suction side is on the lower surface, hence the design is optimized for negative angles of attack. Figure 1.2 depicts the theoretical pressure distribution at angle of attack -3o.