What is Cavitation? What is Flashing? Are they have the same meaning?

On the left side, a plug and cage of a control valve have been damaged by cavitation. On the right side, there are
two images, an undamaged control valve plug (left) and a damaged identical plug severely eroded by flashing. These
two images show that cavitation damage looks very different compared to flashing. Both kinds of damage are the
result of related, but very different, processes.
In the cavitation, the gas bubbles collapse at pressure > vapor pressure while in flashing gas bubbles collapse < vapor
pressure. Flashing is an in- to- out event while cavitation is an out- to- in event. Flashing occurs at low pressure and
cavitation occurs when the low-pressure bubbles collapse at the high-pressure region within the pump casing
producing a shock wave. Reduction of volume of the vapor sphere concentrates matter and energy. When the
bubbles collapse difference between internal (lower) and external (higher) pressure, or inward and outward forces,
that is so large that water rushes into the voids and strike the metal with such high speed the structure collapses
inward into itself – this is called implosion [an inward explosion] The momentum generated by the hitting water is
high enough to damage the metal.
The post covers [1] Dynamics of transient cavitation bubbles [2] Cavitation shock waves [3] Cavitation vs Flashing
Vena contracts diagrams [4] Implosion of vapor bubbles in cavitation and [5] Cavitation and Flashing comparison

Cavitation:

Cavitation is defined as the process of formation of the vapor phase of a liquid when it is subjected to reduced
pressure at constant ambient temperature. When a volume of liquid is subjected to sufficiently low pressure, it may
rupture and form a cavity. This phenomenon is called cavitation. Thus, it is the process of boiling a liquid as a result
of pressure reduction rather than heat addition. However, the basic principle and thermodynamic processes are the
same in both cases.
A liquid is said to cavitate when vapor bubbles form and grow as a consequence of pressure reduction. When the
phase transition results from hydrodynamic pressure changes, a two-phase flow composed of a liquid and its vapor
called Cavitating flow is created.

This is a very important diagram that

explains the difference between cavitation
and flashing
Cavitation will only occur if the local pressure declines to some point below the saturated vapor pressure of the
liquid and subsequent recovery above the vapor pressure. If the recovery pressure is not above the vapor pressure
then flashing is said to have occurred.
A typical example of cavitation
Turbulent shear flow – Pressure drop by eddies

Cavitation can occur in turbulent shear flows because of local pressure reduction by eddies. An eddy is the swirling
of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid is in a turbulent flow system. The moving fluid creates a
space absence of downstream-flowing fluid on the downstream side of the object. Fluid behind the obstacle flows
into the void creating a swirl of fluid on each edge of the obstacle, followed by a short reverse flow, see the image
below, of fluid behind the obstacle flowing upstream, toward the back of the obstacle. When there is backflow,
there is huge friction and a huge pressure drop.

Dynamics of transient cavitation bubbles

The life of the small transient bubbles is measured in milliseconds. They grow during their passage through the low-
pressure region and then collapse as they enter the region of increasing pressure. If the bubbles have a relatively
high initial gas content, they will collapse and rebound. If such bubbles remain spherical throughout their life
history, extremely high pressures would be generated upon the collapse of the order of thousands of atmospheres.
Spherically collapsing cavitation bubbles produce a shock wave followed by a rebound bubble.

However, distortions occur because of Taylor's instability. Taylor instability: It is the instability of an interface
between two fluids of different densities which occurs when the lighter fluid is pushing the heavier fluid. Therefore,
some distortions occur and some bubbles collapse. When bubbles collapse an internal jet is formed. The velocity of
the jet is very high; the impact on a surface produces high stress and causes severe damage to surface particularly
by erosion.
Erosion by cavitation: An important aspect of cavitation bubbles is their erosive power, which can be both harmful
or beneficial, depending on the application. The erosion takes place during and shortly after the collapse of single
bubbles, and is, in most cases, attributed to the formation of a strong shock or a fast, thin liquid jet, called the
micro-jet, please the image below.
Cavitation scaling laws
The parameters which describe the conditions for cavitation similarity are bundled into an equation called the
cavitation number, = [ Pa – Pc] / [½ ρ U^2] where Pa is ambient absolute pressure, Pc is the cavity pressure, ρ is the
mass density of the liquid and U is reference speed characteristic of the flow. The cavitation number at which
cavitation begins is called the critical cavitation number. Above the critical cavitation number, no cavitation occurs;
below the critical, it does occur. Operation with well below critical number produces a very large cavitated region.
In a two-phase one-component flow, the cavity pressure is just the vapor pressure. In a multicomponent flow, the
cavity pressure is the sum of the partial pressures of the vapor of the liquid and of any gas that may have been
introduced into the cavity.
Beginning of cavitation: The role of Nuclei
The beginning of cavitation in a multi-component liquid at pressures near vapor pressure requires the presence of
nuclei that contains minute amounts of vapor, gas, or both. Cavitation will happen only when these nuclei become
unstable and grow when subjected to pressure reduction.

The nuclei will remain stable as long as the partial pressure of the gas and vapor within the nucleus is balanced by
ambient pressure and the surface tension pressure at the nucleus - liquid interface. Therefore, the condition for
static equilibrium is that
Ambient pressure + Surface tension pressure = Vapor pressure + Gas pressure

PA + 2y/R = PV + Const/R^3
The pressure adjacent to the bubble has a minimum value which is below the vapor pressure of the liquid. As long
as the ambient pressure is above this minimum and the initial bubble radius is smaller than the radius associated
with it, the nucleus is stable and tends to reach an equilibrium radius along the left-hand portion of the curve, see
the image above, where the slope is negative. If however, the pressure drops below the critical value, the bubble
becomes unstable and grows without bound. A stable nucleus can decrease in size and eventually disappear
because its gas content diffuses into the surrounding fluid.
Cavitation damage

The bubble collapse pressure changes are high enough to cause the failure of metals. The collapsing of bubbles
triggers intense shockwaves inside the pump, causing significant damage in a short time.
Cavitation vs Flashing comparison

High pressure condensate converts to low pressure vapor when a steam trap discharges hot / high pressure
condensate at higher energy [ H enthalpy] to low energy atmosphere at lower ambient temperature/ pressure. The
∆H generates steam. This is flashed steam and the process is called flashing. In the case of cavitation at the low-
pressure pockets within the pump casing bubbles of vapor form at low pressure region, if the bubbles have a
relatively high initial gas content, they will collapse and rebound. If such bubbles remain spherical throughout their
life history, when these are carried downstream into a high-pressure region the bubbles collapse giving rise to high
pressures and possible cavitation damage. Reduction of volume of the vapor sphere concentrates matter and
energy. When the bubbles collapse difference between internal (lower) and external (higher) pressure, or inward
and outward forces, that is so large that water rushes into the voids and strike the metal with such high speed the
structure collapses inward into itself – this is called implosion [an inward explosion] The momentum generated by
the hitting water is high enough to damage the metal.
Although the collapse of a small cavity is a relatively low-energy event, highly localized collapses can erode metals
After a surface is initially affected by cavitation, it tends to erode at an accelerating pace. The cavitation pits
increase the turbulence of the fluid flow and create crevices that act as nucleation sites for additional cavitation
bubbles. The pits also increase the components' surface area and leave behind residual stresses. This makes the
surface more prone to stress corrosion

Vena Contracta pressure diagram

Cavitation [ LHS image]: LHS image below shows the pressure profile of a process fluid moving from left to right in
a closed system. If the PV of the fluid is below the upstream pressure (P1), above the vena contracta pressure (PVC)
and below the downstream pressure (P2), vapor bubbles can form as pressure drops. In this case the bubbles can
suddenly collapse or implode as the pressure recovers, a condition known as cavitation.

Flashing [RHS image]: If the local pressure within the restricted flow area drops below the vapor pressure of the
liquid, which is a condition called the “vena contracta,” vaporization occurs (i.e., vapor bubbles would form in the
liquid). If the downstream pressure remains below the vapor pressure, the process is said to be a flashing service,
and the outlet stream will be predominantly in a vapor phase. When this flow impinges on valve components, it can
cause the kind of erosive damage. This erosion can be severe and may occur even when no abrasive solids are
present in the liquid.
The key difference is while in the cavitation the bubbles collapse above the vapor pressure of the liquid in the case
of flashing it occurs below the vapor pressure of the liquid.

Credit: Google