Cavitation Behavior Research Articles

Cavitation Behavior in a Nozzle Throat and its Effect to Atomization for High Viscous Liquid

Cavitation Behavior in a Nozzle Throat and its Effect to Atomization for High Viscous Liquid

The Influence of Various Structure Surface Boundary Conditions on Pressure Characteristics of Underwater Explosion

The shock wave of the underwater explosion can cause severe damage to the ship structure. The propagation characteristics of shock waves near the structure surface are complex, involving lots of complex phenomena such as reflection, transmission, diffraction, and cavitation. However, different structure surface boundaries have a significant effect on the propagation characteristics of pressure. This paper focuses on investigating the behavior of shock wave propagation and cavitation from underwater explosions near various structure surfaces. A coupled Runge–Kutta discontinuous Galerkin (RKDG) and finite element method (FEM) is utilized to solve the problem of the complex waves of fluids and structure dynamic response, considering the fluid compressibility. The level set (LS) method and the ghost fluid (GF) method are combined to capture the moving interface and deal with the stability of the coupling between the shock wave and structure surface. Besides, a cut-off cavitation model is introduced to the RKDG method. The validation of the numerical calculation model is discussed by comparing it with the known solution to verify the numerical solutions. Then, crucial kinds of structure surface boundary conditions include shallow-water single layer elasticity plate, double-layer crevasse elasticity plate, single layer curved elasticity plate, and double-layer curved elasticity plates are analyzed and discussed. The results and analysis can provide references for underwater explosion pressure characteristics, the impacting response of different boundary structures, and designing structures.

Numerical Investigation of Unsteady Cavitation Flow around E779A Propeller in a Nonuniform Wake with an Insight on How Cavitation Influences Vortex

In the current study, the turbulent cavitation flow around a marine propeller in a nonuniform wake is simulated with the shear stress transport (k−ω SST) turbulence model combining Zwart–Gerber–Belamri (ZGB) cavitation model. The predicted cavity evolution shows a fairly well agreement with the available experimental results. Important mechanisms of propeller cavitation flow, including side‐entrant jet and cavitation‐vortex interaction, are analyzed in this paper. Vorticity is found to be mainly located in cavitation regions and the propeller wake during propeller rotating. The unsteady behavior of cavitation and side‐entrant jet can both promote local vorticity generation and flow unsteadiness. In addition, it is indicated with the relative vorticity transport equation that the stretching term plays a major role in vorticity transportation, while baroclinic torque and Coriolis force term mainly influence the vorticity distribution along the liquid‐vapor interface.

The retardation effects of lamellar slip or/and chain slip on void initiation during uniaxial stretching of oriented iPP

Cavitation is frequently encountered during the deformation of semi-crystalline polymers. Although abundant works have been performed to reveal the cavitation behavior in detail, the relationship between void formation and the plastic deformation of crystalline phase is still unclear. In this work, by in-situ synchrotron X-ray scattering, the void formation and the slip process in crystalline phase during uniaxial stretching of oriented isotactic polypropylene (iPP) were investigated. Results proved clearly that lamellae slip or/and chain slip presents a retardation effect on void formation. As the Deviation Angle (DA, defined as the angle between stretching direction and lamellae normal) was 0°, voids were initiated at a Hencky strain (εH) of 0.04 and the longitude direction of voids was perpendicular to lamellae normal. Meanwhile, no slip process happened when voids were induced. As DA was 15°, lamellae slip took place once the stretching was started and voids were formed at εH of 0.09. When DA was further enlarged to 30° and 45°, both lamellae slip and chain slip could be found as voids were induced. The εH of voids formation were 0.29 and 0.31, respectively. Interestingly, it is worth noting that as DA was increased from 0° to 45°, although the orientation degree of voids was decreased, the longitude direction of voids stayed perpendicular to the normal of lamellae. When DA was enlarged further to 90°, voids were formed at εH of 0.1 and the longitude direction of voids coincided with lamellae normal. Additionally, neither lamellae slip nor chain slip existed once voids appeared. Combining the value of micro-strain of lamellae stacks and crystal lattice, it is proposed that voids were formed either in the amorphous phase on the normal side of lamellae (0° ≤ DA ≤ 45°) or in the amorphous phase on the lateral side of lamellae (DA = 90°).

Experimental analysis of tip vortex cavitation mitigation by controlled surface roughness

This study presents results of experiments where roughness applications are evaluated in delaying the tip vortex cavitation inception of an elliptical foil. High-speed video recordings and laser doppler velocimetry (LDV) measurements are employed to provide further details on the cavitation behavior and tip vortex flow properties in different roughness pattern configurations. The angular momentum measurements of the vortex core region at one chord length downstream of the tip indicate that roughness leads to a lower angular momentum compared with the smooth foil condition while the vortex core radius remains similar in the smooth and roughened conditions. The observations show that the cavitation number for tip vortex cavitation inception is reduced by 33% in the optimized roughness pattern compared with the smooth foil condition where the drag force increase is observed to be around 2%. During the tests, no obvious differences in the cavitation inception properties of uniform and non-uniform roughness distributions are observed. However, the drag force is found to be higher with a non-uniform roughness distribution.

Cavitating Jet: A Review

When a high-speed water jet is injected into water through a nozzle, cavitation is generated in the nozzle and/or shear layer around the jet. A jet with cavitation is called a “cavitating jet”. When the cavitating jet is injected into a surface, cavitation is collapsed, producing impacts. Although cavitation impacts are harmful to hydraulic machinery, impacts produced by cavitating jets are utilized for cleaning, drilling and cavitation peening, which is a mechanical surface treatment to improve the fatigue strength of metallic materials in the same way as shot peening. When a cavitating jet is optimized, the peening intensity of the cavitating jet is larger than that of water jet peening, in which water column impacts are used. In order to optimize the cavitating jet, an understanding of the instabilities of the cavitating jet is required. In the present review, the unsteady behavior of vortex cavitation is visualized, and key parameters such as injection pressure, cavitation number and sound velocity in cavitating flow field are discussed, then the estimation methods of the aggressive intensity of the jet are summarized.

Structural evolution of β-iPP with different supermolecular structures during the simultaneous biaxial stretching process

Two different supermolecular structures of β-iPP cast films were used to investigate structural evolution during the simultaneous biaxial stretching process via small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Based on the mechanical behaviors and porosity variations during the stretching process, it was found that the two samples had different structural evolution modes. During the initial stage of deformation, β-hedrites exhibited violent cavitation behavior in the center region of the hedrites by forming elliptical crazes and expanding, while β-spherulites were more inclined to fragment into blocky crystal structures, which was accompanied by the slippage of these structures. In the later stages of stretching, β-hedrites formed numerous dense regions around the elliptical crazes, which hindered microvoid formation and led to a poor pore size distribution. Conversely, β-spherulites generated abundant microfibrillar structures, and abundant microvoids were formed by directly separating the microfibrils, forming a membrane with a superior pore size distribution. The structural evolution of β-iPP with two different supermolecular structures during the simultaneous biaxial stretching process was studied. The two samples showed different structural evolution modes. β-hedrites exhibited violent cavitation behavior during the initial stage of deformation, but in the late stages of stretching β-hedrites formed numerous dense regions, which hindered microvoid formation and led to a poor pore size distribution. Conversely, β-spherulite generated abundant microfibrillar structures, and abundant microvoids were formed, forming a membrane with a superior pore size distribution.

The Influence of Inflow Swirl on Cavitating and Mixing Processes in a Venturi Tube

A study of the mixing flows (Schmidt number = 103) in a cavitating Venturi tube that feature linear and swirling flows is presented in this paper. The Large Eddy Simulation (LES) turbulence model, the Schnerr–Sauer cavitation model, and the mixture multiphase model, as implemented in the commercial CFD ANSYS FLUENT 16.2, were employed. The main emphasis is spending on the influence of different inlet swirling ratios on the generation of cavitation and mixing behaviors in a Venturi tube. Four different inflow regimes were investigated for the Reynolds number Re = 19,044, 19,250, 19,622, 21,276: zero swirl, 15% swirl, 25% swirl and 50% swirl velocity relative to the transverse inflow velocity, respectively. The computed velocity and pressure profiles were shown in good agreement with the experiment data from the literature. The predicted results indicate that the imposed swirl flow moves the cavitation bubbles away from throat surfaces toward the throat axis. The rapid mixing between two volumetric components is promoted in the divergent section when the intense swirl is introduced. Additionally, the increase in the swirl ratio from 0.15 to 0.5 leads to a linear increase in the static pressure drop and a nonlinear increase in the vapor production. The reduction in the fluid viscosity ratio from μ2μ1=10 to μ2μ1=1 generates a high cavitation intensity in the throat of the Venturi tube. However, the changes in the pressure drop and vapor volume fraction are significantly small of pure water flow.

Experimental studies of hysteresis behavior of partial cavitation around NACA0015 hydrofoil

Partial cavitation is one of the main cavitation regimes occurring in hydrofoil sections. In this study, the effect of gradually increasing and decreasing the angle of attack (α) on partial cavitation of hydrofoils, has been investigated. A new hysteresis phenomenon is observed in a difference of partial cavity length in increasing and decreasing of α. The angle of attack (α) changed from zero to twenty, then from twenty to zero by a step of two degrees at each level. In each α, twelve pictures are taken and optimized using image-processing techniques. Then the partial cavity length is defined as the average value of twelve obtained data. Comparing the results in zero to twenty range by twenty to zero range, hysteresis in partial cavity length is observed. To investigate the repeatability of the results, this procedure is repeated in nine different cavitation numbers varying between 2.35 and 1.72. The same phenomenon is observed in all experiments.

Experimental investigation of the dynamic cavitation behavior and wall static pressure characteristics through convergence-divergence venturis with various divergence angles

As a highly efficient and energy-saving cavitation method, Venturi cavitation is widely used in many industrial fields. This study synchronously investigated the cavity behavior and its corresponding wall static pressure characteristics in Venturi channels with various divergence angles to research the role of the divergence angle in cavity shape and the wall static pressure oscillation. Five rectangular Venturi channels with different divergence angles (4°, 6°, 8°, 10°, and 12°) were tested at the cavitation number (0.3–1.0). Based on the dynamic behaviour of gas–liquid interface, three cavity shedding types were identified: front shedding (I), central shedding (II) and tail shedding (III). A modified correlation for predicting average cavity length was proposed with the consideration of the effect of the divergence angle. Combined with the wall static pressure characteristics, as the divergence angle increased, the wall static pressure fluctuation in the Venturi became more intense. According to the wall static pressure oscillation characteristics, for the larger divergence angles (θ = 6°, 8°, 10° and 12°), the wall static pressure oscillation frequency was the same as the cavity shedding frequency and increased with the increase of the divergence angle. For smaller divergence angle (θ = 4°), no definite periodicity in pressure oscillation frequency could be observed.

Some notes on numerical simulation of the turbulent cavitating flow with a dynamic cubic nonlinear sub-grid scale model in OpenFOAM

The accuracy of large eddy simulation (LES) is highly dependent on the performance of sub-grid scale (SGS) model. In the present paper, a dynamic cubic nonlinear sub-grid scale model (DCNM) proposed by Huang et al. is implemented for the simulation of unsteady cavitating flow around a 3-D Clark-Y hydrofoil in OpenFOAM. Its performance in predicting the evolution of cloud cavitation is discussed in detail. The simulation with a linear model, the dynamic Smagorinsky model (DSM), is also conducted as a comparison. The results with DCNM show a better agreement with the available experimental observation. The comparison between DCNM and DSM further suggests that the DCNM is able to predict the backscatter more precisely, which is an important feature in LES. The characteristics of DCNM is analyzed to account for its advantages in the prediction of unsteady cloud cavitation as well. The results reveal that it is the nonlinear terms of DCNM that makes DCNM capture sub-grid scale vortices better and more suitable for studying the transient behaviors of cloud cavitation than DSM.

High-temperature corrosion behavior of high-temperature and high-pressure cavitation processed Cr–Mo steel surface

In this paper, long-term high-temperature corrosion at 500 °C and high-temperature corrosion at the melting temperature of a corrosive ash mixture were examined because the use of high-temperature equipment such as boilers and gas turbines increases year over year. To investigate the optimum cavitation processing conditions for the specimens used in high-temperature corrosion tests, the surface properties of each processed specimen were examined. In specimens processed using multifunction cavitation (MFC), the compressive residual stress was high when the processing time was 10 min and the Cr content on the surface was greater than on the surface of an unprocessed specimen. On the other hands, in specimens subjected to water-jet peening (WJP), the compressive residual stress was high when the processing time was 10 min. In the present study, the processing time was selected to be 10 min and all high-temperature corrosion tests were conducted by the coating method. In the case of long-term high-temperature corrosion at 500 °C, the corrosion loss of the MFC-processed and WJP-processed specimens was small, whereas the corrosion loss of the unprocessed specimen was large.

Theoretical modeling for leakage characteristics of two-phase flow in the cryogenic labyrinth seal

Labyrinth seals are widely used to seal cryogenic fluids in rocket engine turbopumps and cryogenic cooling machine tools. Cavitation is inevitably induced by pressure drop inside the cryogenic labyrinth seal. However, the occurrence and development of the cavitation as well as the leakage characteristics of two-phase flow are unclear yet. This research focuses on revealing cryogenic cavitation behavior and predicting variables of two-phase flow in the labyrinth seal. The method to determine the cavitation position is presented. Theoretical labyrinth seal leakage models of two-phase flow are proposed for the first time, and a mathematical calculation method is formed. A higher accuracy has been proved using the numerical method. The results indicate the starting position of cavitation is related to the inlet pressure, subcooling degree and seal geometry. The steady tooth clearance pressure drop of two-phase flow is extremely small, resulting in a lower leakage compared to the liquid without phase change. Also, the leakage of two-phase flow is dependent on the vapor volume fraction. This work provides a theoretical basis for further studies on the labyrinth sealing performance of cryogenic fluids.

Intra-volume processing of gelatine hydrogel by femtosecond laser-induced cavitation.

Cell oxygenation and nutrition are crucial for the viability of tissue-engineered constructs, and different alternatives are currently being developed to achieve an adequate vascularisation of the engineered tissue. One of the alternatives is the generation of channel-like patterns in a bioconstruct. Here, the formation of full-formed channels inside hydrogels by laser-induced cavitation was investigated. A near-infrared, femtosecond laser beam focused with a high numerical aperture was employed to obtain intra-volume modifications of a block of gelatine hydrogel. Characterisation of the laser-processed gelatine was carried out by optical microscopy and epifluorescence microscopy right after and 24h after the laser process. Rheology analyses on the unprocessed gelatine blocks were conducted to better understand the cavitation mechanism taking place during the intense laser interaction. Different cavitation patterns were observed at varying dose values by changing the repetition rate and the overlap between successive pulses while keeping the laser fluence and the number of passes fixed. This way, cavitation bubble features and behaviour can be controlled to optimise the formation of intra-volume channels in the gelatine volume. Results showed that the generation of fully formed channels was linked to the formation of large non-spherical cavitation bubbles during the laser interaction at high dose and low repetition rates. In conclusion, the formation of fully formed channels was made possible with a near-infrared, femtosecond laser beam strongly focused inside gelatine hydrogel blocks through laser-induced cavitation at high dose and low repetition rates.

Behavior of the reversed austenite in CA-6NM martensitic stainless steel under cavitation

As-hardened (fully martensitic) and as-tempered (with 14 ± 2% reversed austenite in a martensitic matrix) samples were subjected to cavitation testing in order to characterize the behavior of the reversed austenite and understand how it influences the CA-6NM steel cavitation behavior. Results showed similar nominal incubation periods of 3 h for both the studied conditions. For the first time, it is shown that the as-tempered CA-6NM steel incubation stage can be divided in two distinct parts: i) the IP I, period mainly related to γREV→α′ strain-induced transformation; and IP II, period mainly related to α′ deformation. It was concluded that the reversed austenite plays important role in the incubation stage of the CA-6NM steel, delaying the expected start of the cavitation erosion.

Surface functionalization by nanosecond-laser texturing for controlling hydrodynamic cavitation dynamics.

The interaction between liquid flow and solid boundary can result in cavitation formation when the local pressure drops below vaporization threshold. The cavitation dynamics does not depend only on basic geometry, but also on surface roughness, chemistry and wettability. From application point of view, controlling cavitation in fluid flows by surface functionalization is of great importance to avoid the unwanted effects of hydrodynamic cavitation (erosion, noise and vibrations). However, it could be also used for intensification of various physical and chemical processes. In this work, the surfaces of 10-mm stainless steel cylinders are laser textured in order to demonstrate how hydrodynamic cavitation behavior can be controlled by surface modification. The surface properties are modified by using a nanosecond (10-28ns) fiber laser (wavelength of 1060nm). In such a way, surfaces with different topographies and wettability were produced and tested in a cavitation tunnel at different cavitation numbers (1.0-2.6). Cavitation characteristics behind functionalized cylindrical surfaces were monitored simultaneously by high-speed visualization (20,000 fps) and high frequency pressure transducers. The results clearly show that cavitation characteristics differ significantly between different micro-structured surfaces. On some surfaces incipient cavitation is delayed and cavitation extent decreased in comparison with the reference - a highly polished cylinder. It is also shown that the increased surface wettability (i.e., hydrophilicity) delays the incipient cavitation.

The impact of viscosity and propagation velocity of the flow on the initiation of the cavitation in a gear pump

The article analyzes the cavitation behaviour of gear pumps. If the liquid is more viscous and the liquid volume is underpressure less time, the dissolved air escapes in a significantly less amount than under a given pressure according to Henry’s law.

Cavitation in thin liquid layer: A review.

This review tries to cover as many research fields and literatures associated with cavitation in thin liquid layer as possible. The intent was to summarize (i) list all the research fields related to cavitation in thin liquid layer that can be collected, (ii) advances in the investigation of cavitation in thin liquid layer, and (iii) draw attention to the relatively macroscopic cavitation behavior in thin liquid layer.

Extended compressible thermal cavitation model for the numerical simulation of cryogenic cavitating flow

The compressibility of the vapour–liquid phase is indispensable in simulating liquid hydrogen or liquid nitrogen cavitating flow. In this paper, a numerical simulation method considering compressibility and combining the thermal effects of cryogenic fluids was developed. The method consisted of the compressible thermal cavitation model and RNG k–ε turbulence model with modified turbulent eddy viscosity. The cavitation model was based on the Zwart–Gerber–Belamri (ZGB) model and coupled the heat transfer and vapour–liquid two-phase state equations. The model was validated on cavitating hydrofoil and ogive, and the results agreed well with the experimental data of Hord in NASA. The compressibility and thermal effects were correlated during the phase change process and compressibility improved the accuracy of the numerical simulation of cryogenic cavitating flow based on thermal effects. Moreover, the thermal effects delayed or suppressed the occurrence and development of cavitation behaviour. The proposed modified compressible ZGB (MCZGB) model can predict compressible cryogenic cavitating flow at various conditions.

Stereoscopic high-speed microscopy to understand transient internal flow processes in high-pressure nozzles

The flow and cavitation behavior inside fuel injectors is known to affect spray development, mixing and combustion characteristics. While diesel fuel injectors with converging and hydro-eroded holes are generally known to limit cavitation and feature higher discharge coefficients during the steady period of injection, less is known about the flow during transient periods corresponding to needle opening and closing. Multiple injection strategies involve short injections, multiplying these aspects and giving them a growing importance as part of the fuel delivery process. In this study, single-hole transparent nozzles were manufactured with the same hole inlet radius and diameter as the Engine Combustion Network Spray D nozzle, mounted to a modified version of a common-rail Spray A injector body and needle. Needle opening and closing periods were visualized with stereoscopic high-speed microscopy at injection pressures relevant to modern diesel engines. Time-resolved sac pressure was extracted via elastic deformation analysis of the transparent nozzles. Sources of cavitation were observed and tracked, enabling the identification of a gas exchange process after the end of injection with ingestion of chamber gas into the sac and orifice. We observed that the gas exchange contributed widely to disrupting the start of injection and outlet flow during the subsequent injection event.