A low-order BEM has been applied for the structural analysis of super-cavitating hydrofoil sections. Linear and quadratic saw-tooth correctors have been accounted for by updating the RHS of the low-order method. The method has been validated with thick or thin beams, as well as with actual hydrofoil sections under representative loading. Inclusion of both, the linear and the quadratic correctors seem to be necessary, especially in the case of thin hydrofoils. Despite the fact that this iterative method has been proven to be a viable alternative to direct high-order BEM's, it appears to suffer from a slow convergence rate with number of iterations, especially in the case of thin super-cavitating sections (with even thinner leading edges) under a square root singular loading. This low convergence is primarily attributed to the very poor initial guess in the iterative process.
The main advantages of the present method may be summarized as:
Improving the convergence of the iterative method and completing its extension to three-dimensions are our immediate objectives.
The method has yet to be coupled with the hydrodynamic analysis of the super-cavitating hydrofoil in order to predict the effects of hydro-elasticity.