Cavitation
Detriment and Tool
Outline
What is Cavitation?
Effects of Cavitation
What causes it?
The Good
Thermodynamic Roots
The Bad
Types of Cavitation
Prevention of Cavitation
Inertial Cavitation
Non-Inertial Cavitation Hydrodynamic Cavitation
Cavitation in Nature
What is Cavitation?
Formation and collapse of vapor bubbles in a liquid
A phenomena closely related to boiling
What Causes Cavitation?
Thermodynamic Roots
Boiling occurs when enough energy is added to a system for a vapor pocket to overcome surface tension in a liquid Cavitation occurs when local pressure falls below vapor saturation pressure Similar to ONB Using the Clausius-Clapeyron equation it is possible to predict a pressure threshold
Types of Cavitation
Three types of Cavitation
Hydrodynamic
Flow characteristics causes sufficient pressure drop
Inertial
Object moving through liquid causes sufficient pressure drop
Non-Inertial
Sufficient energy is added to system
Hydrodynamic Cavitation
Similar to Inertial cavitation Result of flow around stationary object Video
Inertial Cavitation
Result of an object moving through a liquid
Non-Inertial Cavitation
Result of pressure oscillations
(acoustic cavitation)
Regions of High Energy Density
Effects of Cavitation
Inefficiency Flow Instability Damage to Surfaces Localized Temperature (>5000 K) and Pressure Spikes
Positive Effects
Medicine
Weight loss Cancer Treatment
Ethanol Production
Cavitated flow increases production yields
Supercavitation
Negative Effects
Most common problem is pitting of surfaces
More pitting=more cavitation
Introduces vapor pockets into flow
Preventative Measures
Propellers
Blade pitch vs. blade speed
Pumps
Proper inlet conditions
Causeways/Spillways
Introduction of air into flow
Cavitation in Nature
Geology
Formation of diamonds Coastal Erosion
Marine Life
Dolphins/Tuna Pistol Shrimp
Video (0:37)
Questions?
