  The cavitation behaviour of a four-blade rocket engine turbopump inducer is
simulated. A 2D numerical model of unsteady cavitation was applied to a blade
cascade drawn fromthe inducer geometry. The physical model is based on a
homogeneous approach of cavitation, coupled with a barotropic state law for the
liquid/vapour mixture. The numericalresolution uses a pressure-correction
method derived from the SIMPLE algorithm and a finite volume discretization.
Unsteadybehaviour of sheet cavities attached to the blade suction side depends
on the flow rate and cavitation number. Two differentunstable configurations of
rotating cavitation, respectively sub-synchronous and super-synchronous, are
identified. The mechanisms that are responsible for these unstable behaviours
are discussed, and the stress fluctuations induced on the blade by the rotating
cavitation are estimated.
