Pump ED 101

Cavitation - - A Largely Misunderstood Phenomenon

Joe Evans, Ph.D http://www.pumped101.com

Thevaporbubblesthatforminapotofboilingwaterwilleventuallyrisetothesurface
andburst.Theenergyrelease(explosion)thatoccursuponburstisquitesmall.But
whenthatsamebubbleformsinthevanesofanimpellerandbeginsitsoutward
migration,anextremelypowerfulforcecanbereleased.

Cavitation(fromcavity)isdefinedastherapidformationandcollapseofvaporbubbles
orpocketsinaliquid,duetodynamicaction,andresultingintheformationofcavities
onthesurfacesofsolidboundaries.Thesesolidboundariescanexistinanynumberof
structuresincludinghydrofoils,pipes,andfittingsbut,inourindustry,theprimary
victimsareimpellersandpropellers.Cavitationwasfirstexplainedin1917bythe
Englishphysicist,LordRayleigh,ashewasstudyingamysteriousmetalerosiononship
propellers.Althoughitseffectsuponthesurfacesofanimpellerhavebeenwitnessed
bymanyofusinthepumpindustrycavitation,itself,remainsalargelymisunderstood
phenomenon.Actually,thisisnottoosurprisingwhenoneconsidersthecomplex
physicalbehavioroftherelatively,simplewatermoleculeandthedynamicforcesit
encounterswithinthecentrifugalpump.

Thephysicsandthermodynamicsofwatervaporbubbleformationarequitecomplex
butwellunderstood.Thecomplexitiesofcavitationhavealsobeenwellresearchedand
awealthofdataonitscausesandeffectsexistinbothprintedandonlineliterature.
UnfortunatelymostofthearticlesoncavitationthatIhavereadtendtocircumvent
whatIcalltheintuitiveapproachtoitsunderstanding.Thegoodonesaretypically
tooacademicandmathematicallycomplexforthemajorityofusand,thenotsogood
onesjustglossoverthephenomenonitselfandmoveontoitsrathervaguecausesand
effects.Someevendepictcavitationoccurringonthewrongsideofthevane!

Thegoalofthistutorialistohelpyougainaintuitiveunderstandingofthecavitation
processanditscauses.Iwillleaveitspreventiontothemanyarticlesthatalreadyexist.
Sinceboilingistheprecursortocavitation,wewillbeginbytakingalookatsomeofthe
propertiesofwaterandtheirroleinthecavitationprocess.WewillthenputNPSHinto
perspectiveandreviewsomeofthedynamicsofcentrifugalpumpoperationthatalso
directlyaffecttheprocess.Wewillconcludewithadiscussionofthedifferenttypesof
centrifugalpumpcavitationandtheconditionsthatcancausethemtooccur.

PropertiesofWater

Ifweweretotakealookatsomeofthepropertiesofwater,wewouldfindseveral
apparentcontradictions.Likemanyothercompoundsinnature,itcanexistasasolid,
liquid,oragas.Therearealsoindicationsthatitsmoleculesmightformapolymerlike
structure.

At32F(0C)waterishappytoexistaseitherasolidoraliquiditwillbothfreeze
andthaw.Andat212F(100C)itwillboilbut,itwillalsocondenseatthatverysame
temperature.Contrarytonormalthinking,boilingisactuallyacoolingprocessand,
undercertainconditions,continuedboilingwillcausewatertofreeze!And,onacold
day,hotwaterwillfreezefasterthanlukewarmwater.

Itsdensity,intheliquidstate,isfargreaterthanthatofitssolidstateexactlythe
oppositeofmostothercommonsubstances.Itisalsonearlynoncompressibleinthe
liquidstatebutifyouincreasethepressurearoundaicecube,withoutchangingthe
temperature,itwillmelt.Removethatextrapressureanditwillfreezeagain.
Waterisalsoapoorconductorofheatandelectricity.But,itcanstoremoreheatthan
mostothermaterialsandreleasesitfarmoreslowly.Itsattractiontoothersubstances
(adhesion)isgreaterthatitattractiontoitself(cohesion).Finally,andmostimportantly,
youhavetoboilricelongerinDenverthanyoudoinSavannah.

Convinced?Coulditbethatthepropertiesexhibitedbythissimplelittlemolecule
makecavitationdifficulttograsp?Thebestwaytounravelsomeofthese
contradictions,andunderstandhowtheymighteffectthecavitationprocess,istotakea
lookathowthewatermoleculechangesstate.BythisImeanwhatisthecauseand
effectwhenliquidwaterchangestovaporandviceversa.Iwillnotspendtimeonthe
solidstateofwatersinceitschangeisnotimportanttotypicalpumpingapplications.

ChangeofState

Waterinanopencontainerwilleventuallydisappearthroughaprocesscalled
evaporation.Evaporationisthechangeinstateofaliquidtoagasthatoccursonlyon
thesurfaceoftheliquid.Oftencalledthebilliardballeffectitoccursduetothe
randombumpingoftheliquidmoleculesthatcausessometobepushedoffthesurface
andintotheairabove.Thisresultsinalossofenergyintheliquidandanincreasein
energyintheairabove.Inotherwords,thewatercoolsandthetemperatureoftheair
aboveincreases.

Thereverseofthisprocessiscalledcondensation.Whenwatervapormoleculesare
nearthewaterssurfacetheycanbeattractedbytheliquidmolecules.Iftheystrikethe
surface,theywillagainbecomepartoftheliquidandtransfertheenergytheygained
fromevaporationbackintothewater.Inotherwords,thewaterwillbecomewarmer
andtheairabovewillcool.Thisisnotthecasewhencondensationoccursabovethe
surfaceoftheliquid.Whenvapormoleculesattachtooneanotherinmidair,the
resultingliquidiscooledandthesurroundingairiswarmed.

Therateatwhichevaporationandcondensationoccurdependsuponthetemperature
ofthewaterandtheair.Itisalsoaffectedbytheatmosphericpressureuponthewaters
surface.Whenthewateriswarmer,moreandstrongerbumpingoccursandthe
evaporationrateincreases.Astheaircoolsthevapormoleculesarelesslivelyand
morelikelytobeattractedbytheliquidoreachother.Achangeinatmospheric
pressurewillresultinagreaterorsmallerforceonthesurfaceofthewaterandthus
effecttherateatwhichmoleculescanleavethesurface.

Now,Ihavetoadmitthatsurfaceevaporationandcondensationhaveabsolutely
nothingatalltodowithcavitation.Butwehadtostartsomewhereanditwillserveas
anintroductiontothechangeofstatethatistheprecursorofcavitation.

Undertherightconditions,atypeofevaporationcanoccurbeneaththewaterssurface.
AtypicalexampleofthisisthepotofwaterIspokeofintheopeningparagraphofthis
tutorial.Boiling,ornucleation,isachangeofstatethattakesplacethroughoutthe
volumeofaliquid.Watervaporbubblesformonlywhentheirenergyandresulting
pressureisgreatenoughtoovercomethepressureofthesurroundingwaterandthe
atmosphericpressureactingonitssurface.Atsealevel,atemperatureof212F(100C)
willenergizewatermoleculestoapointwheretheywillbegintoformvaporbubbles.
Onceboiling,thetemperatureofthewaterwillremainat212Fregardlessofhowmuch
additionalheatisappliedtothepot.(SeeItoldyouthatboilingisacoolingprocess.)
Thesteamthatyouseerisingfromthesurfaceofthewaterisnotreallysteamatall,it
iswatervaporthathascondensedintheairabove.

IfyoumovethissamepottoDenver(elevation5000)youwillfindthatthewaterboils
atabout203F(95C).Thislowerboilingpointisduetothehigherelevationandthe
correspondingreductioninatmosphericpressureexerteduponthesurfaceofthewater.
Theformationofvaporbubblesrequireslessenergy,intheformofheat,asthe
atmosphericpressuredecreasesbecausetheoverallpressureactingagainsttheboiling
processislowered.Thereverseisalsotrueincreasethepressureonthesurfaceto
greaterthanoneatmosphereandtheboilingpointwillincreaseaccordingly.

Thetableonthefollowingpageillustratestherelationshipbetweenelevationand
atmosphericpressure.Inourindustry,headistypicallymeasuredinfeetofwaterso,I
haveusedthatsameunitofmeasure.Atsealevel(0feet)34feetofwaterpressureis
equalto14.7PSIor760mmofmercury.Thetablealsoshowstheatmosphericpressure
requiredtomaintainwaterinitsliquidstateatvarioustemperatures.Thispressureis
calledVaporPressureandisalsomeasuredinfeetofH2O.(Pleasenotethatthesetwo
comparisonsarecompletelyindependentofoneanotherandareinthesametablefor
purposesofconvenience.)

AtmosphericpressureisapositivecomponentofavailableNetPositiveSuctionHead
(NPSHa),asubjectthatwewilldiscussinmoredetaillater.Asyoucansee,itranges
from34atsealeveltoapproximately23.4atanelevationof10,000.Whengoingfrom
SavannahtoDenver(sealevelto5000)welosealmost6ofatmosphericpressure.

VaporpressureisanegativecomponentofNPSHa.At50Fjust0.41ofatmospheric
pressureisrequiredtokeepwaterinitsliquidstate.Asitrisesintemperature,more
andmorepressureisrequiredtokeepitfromboiling.Between200and210Fthe
vaporpressurerequiredreachesthatoftheatmosphericpressureinDenverand,sinceit
isalmost6feetlowerthanthatofSavannah,waterwillboilatalowertemperature
(203F).ThereasonittakeslongertocookriceinDenveristhatthecookingprocess
dependsupontheheatcontentperunitoftime,notthemerefactthatwaterisboiling.

Elevation
InFeet
AtmosphericPressure
InFeetofH2O
H2OTemperature
InF
VaporPressure
InFeetofH2O

0 34.0 50 0.41
500 33.3 60 0.59
1000 32.8 70 0.84
1500 32.2 80 1.17
2000 31.6 90 1.62
2500 31.0 100 2.20
3000 30.5 110 2.96
3500 29.8 120 3.95
4000 29.4 130 5.20
4500 28.7 140 6.78
5000 28.2 150 8.74
5500 27.8 160 11.20
6000 27.3 170 14.20
6500 26.6 180 17.85
7000 26.2 190 22.30
7500 25.7 200 27.60
8000 25.2 210 34.00
8500 24.8 220 41.45
9000 24.3 230 50.35
10000 23.4 240 60.75

NPSHa&NPSHr

Aswesawearlier,theboilingpointofwater,inapot,isafunctionofatmospheric
pressureandthetemperatureofthewater.Whenacentrifugalpumpisinvolvedinthe
boilingprocess,threeadditionalcomponentsmustbefactoredintotheequation.

TheNPSHavailabletoacentrifugalpumpcombinestheeffectsofatmospheric
pressure,watertemperature,supplyelevation,andthedynamicsofthesuctionpiping.
Thefollowingequationillustratesthisrelationship.Allvaluesareinfeetofwater.

NPSHa=Ha+/HzHf+HvHvp

Where:Haistheatmosphericpressure
Hzistheverticaldistancefromthesurfaceofthewatertothecenterlineofthe
pumpssuction(positiveornegative)
Hfisthefrictionformedinthesuctionpiping
Hvisthevelocityheadatthepumpssuction
Hvpisthevaporpressureofthewateratitsambienttemperature

WiththepossibleexceptionofHv,thecomponentsofNPSHaareprettyself
explanatory.UnlikeHzwhichrepresentspotentialenergyofawatercolumn,Hvor
velocityheadisthekineticenergyofamassofwatermovingatsomevelocityV.Itcan
beeasilycalculatedbydeterminingthevelocityinthesuctionpipingfromavelocity
tableandsubstitutingthatvalueforVintheequationh=V
2
/2g(wheregistheforce
ofgravity@32ft/sec
2
).Itisusuallysmall(atavelocityof7feetpersecond,h=0.765)
butcanbeimportantwhenoverallNPSHaissmallorwhensuctionliftconditionsexist.

Atfirstglance,theequationforNPSHalooksprettycut&driedbut,itisactuallyquite
dynamic.Allofthevariablescanbeinacontinuousstateofchange.Atmospheric
pressure,forexample,canvarybyseveralfeetdependinguponweatherconditions.
Likewise,watertemperatureandsupplyelevationcanbeseasonal.And,velocityhead
andsuctionlinefrictionvaryasafunctionofflow.Usuallytheworstcasevaluesfor
eachofitscomponentsareusedwhencalculatingNPSHa.

AcentrifugalpumpbeginstocavitatewhentheNPSHavailablefallsbelowthevapor
pressureoftheliquidinapumpsflowpassages.MostpublisheddefinitionsoftheNet
PositiveSuctionHeadrequiredbyapump(NPSHr)statethatitistheheadrequiredto
preventcavitation.Recentlyaknowledgeableengineer,andmemberoftheHydraulic
Institute,toldmethatthedefinitionhaschangedovertime.ItnowdefinesNPSHras
thesuctionheadatwhichaparticularpumpshydraulicperformanceisdegradedby
3%.Thistidbitofknowledgeisquitealarmingbecausethedegradation,itself,isdueto
cavitationand,atthe3%level,itisalmostcertainlydamagingcavitation.Itisalso
reasonabletoexpectthatdamagingcavitationcouldoccurwellbeforedegradation
reachesthe3%level.TheHydraulicInstitutesstandardsstipulatethatthepointsona
pumpmanufacturersNPSHrcurvesmustreflectthesevalues.Thissameengineersaid
thatreputablemanufacturersofteninflatetheNPSHrpointsonpublishedcurvesin
ordertokeepthoseofusunfamiliarwiththisdefinitionoutoftrouble.Watchforthe
HItochangethenameofNPSHrtoNPSH3.

Itisreasonabletoexpectthatasmallamountofcavitation,duetoturbulencefromthe
impeller,canoccurmuchofthetime.Inrecentyearsanewterm,NPSHi(inception),
wasdevelopedtodefinethepressurerequiredatthesuctionthatwillsuppressall
cavitation.ThecavitationthatoccursbetweenNPSHiandthepointwheredamage
occursiscalledincipientcavitation.Thisformofcavitationappearstocauselittle,if
any,damageinnormalpumpingapplications,however,thereareinstanceswhere
excessivemarginsofNPSHacanincreasetheseverityofincipientcavitationtoapoint
thatitcancausedamage.But,thisisthestuffofpumpdesign(pumpandsuction
specificspeed)andwewillnotbegoingthereinthistutorial!

NPSHrcannotbecalculatedandmustbedeterminedbyactualtestingofeachand
everypumpmodel.Whydoesapumprequireapositivesuctionhead?Quitesimply,
itisimpossibletodesignacentrifugalpumpthatexhibitsabsolutelynopressuredrop
betweenthesuctioninletanditsminimumpressurepoint,whichnormallyoccursatthe
entrancetotheimpellervanes.And,evenifwecoulditsapplicationwouldbelimited
becauseitwouldbeunabletotakewaterfromanysourcebelowitsinlet.Therefore,all
pumpsystemsmustmaintainapositivesuctionpressurethatissufficienttoovercome
thispressuredrop.Ifthepressureisnotsufficient,thewaterwillboil.

CavitationTheProcess,ItsTypes,&Causes

Suctioncavitation,themostcommonandpredictableformofcavitation,occurswhen
theNPSHavailableatthesuctioninletfallsbelowtheminimumNPSHrequiredbya
particularpump.Theareasmostsensitivetothistypeofcavitationarethelowpressure
sidesoftheimpellervanesneartheinletandthefrontshroud,wherevanecurvatureis
greatest.Whenwaterflowsoverthesurfacesoftheseconvexcurvatures,thepressure
nearthesurfaceisloweredandtheflowcanseparatefromthesurface.Ifthepressureis
lowenough,watervaporpocketsorbubblescanformintheseparatedareaandthen
collapse(orimplode)uponenteringanareaofhigherpressure.Thisprocessof
formationandcollapsecanoccurthousandsoftimesoveraveryshortlineardistanceof
travel.Unlikeanairbubble,whichsimplydissolvesintothesurroundingwateras
pressureincreases,thevaporbubbleactuallychangesstatefromgastoliquid.This
collapseorimplosionofabubblecanbedifficulttocomprehend,soletscompareits
actiontothatofabubbleburstingonthesurface.

Therearetwodistinctdifferencesbetweentheburstofavaporbubbleonthesurfaceof
aboilingpotofwateranditsimplosionorcollapsebeneaththesurface.First,thereisa
verylargedifferenceintheconcentrationofenergyortheamountofenergyreleased
perunitofvolume.Anexplodingbubblereleasesanextremelysmallamountofenergy
(ontheorderof1+atmospheres)whileanimplodingbubble,releasesaverylarge
amountofenergy(ontheorderof10
4
atmospheres).Thereasonforthelargedifference
hastodowiththechangeofstatewediscussedearlier.Whenwaterboilsandchanges
statetoavaporbubble,itgainsenergyintheprocess.But,italsogainsvolumean
increaseofabout1,673timesthatofitsliquidstateat212F.(Whenthatsamevapor
bubbleformsat68F,atypicalcavitationtemperature,itsvolumeincreaseis
approximately58,000timesthatofitsliquidstate!)Thepressureinthebubbleis
relativelysmalljustslightlymorethanthatoftheatmosphere.Whenthatbubble
risestothesurfaceandbursts,itscontentsremaininthevaporstateanditsenergyis
simplydispersedintotheairabove.But,whenthatsamevaporbubblebeginsto
collapse,itlosesvolumeandthepressure(energy)withinincreasesaccordingly.At
totalcollapse,whenitsvolumeisalmostzero,itchangesbacktoaliquidandallofthe
energy,gainedintheboilingprocess,isreleasedintothewaterarounditintheformof
heat.Additionally,ashockwaveisgeneratedasthesurroundingwaterrushesintofill
thevoidleftbythebubble.

Theotherdifferenceisthemannerinwhichthatenergyisdispersed.Whenawater
vaporbubbleburstsitsenergyisdispersedintotheatmospherefromanearlyperfect
circleonthesurfaceofthewater.Itisnotaviolentexplosionsinceitspressureisonly
slightlygreaterthanthatoftheatmosphere.Inotherwordsarelativelysmallamount
ofenergyisreleasedoverarelativelylargearea.Butwhenavaporbubblecollapses,all
ofitsenergyisreleasedintoanextremelysmallvolumeduetotheshrinkageofthe
bubble.Thisenergyreleasecanalsobedirectedinasingledirection,duetothe
formationofsomethingknownasareentrantmicrojet.Iftheimplosionisnearthe
impellersurface,ithasbeenshownthatthedirectionofthemicrojetwilllikelybe
towardsitssurface.Ifso,theentireenergycontentofthebubble(bothheatandshock
wave)willstriketheimpellerinanalmostmicroscopicarea.

So,itisacombinationoftheenergyconcentrationanditsfocuseddirection,intheform
ofamicrojet,thatdifferentiatesanexplosionfromanimplosionandthepotential
damagethelattercancause.Remember,asinglecavitationbubblewillnotcause
detectabledamage.Pittingisanerosionprocessthatoccurs,overtime,duetothe
continuousformationandcollapseofvaporbubblesoveraparticulararea.Severe
cavitationcancausesignificantdamageinjustafewdayswhileminorcavitationmay
notbenoticedforyears.Researchhasshownthatthelifeofacavitationbubbleison

theorderofthreemilliseconds.Whentranslatedintonormalspeak,thismeansthata
singlebubblecanform,collapse,andreform333timesinasinglesecond.During
severecavitationtens,ifnothundreds,ofthousandsofbubblesmaybeformingatany
pointintime!

Evenifthebubblesimplodewellabovethesurfaceoftheimpellerandpittingis
avoided,vibrationandnoisearelikelytobepresent.Vibrationisalsoduetotheshock
wavesemittedbytheimplodingbubblesandcanleadtootherformsofmechanicalor
structuraldamage.Thenoisecreatedbypumpcavitationisaprimaryindicationofits
presenceandissimilartothesoundsemittedbyapotofwaterjustbeforeitreachesthe
boilingpoint.Thiscracklingsoundiscausedbyvaporbubblesthatformatthe
bottomofthepot,wherethetemperatureishighest,butimplodeastheyreachcooler
temperaturesjustafractionofaninchabovethebottom.(Ifwaterboiledinapotat
68Finsteadof212F,thebottomofthepotwouldnotlastverylong.Why?Because
thebubblewouldbealmost35timeslargerandsowouldtheshockwaveitgenerates.)
Currentevidencealsopointstothepresenceofextremelyhighpinpoint
temperaturesduringbubbleimplosionbuttheirdamagingeffect,ifany,issecondaryto
themechanicalshockwavethatisreleased.

Thedrawingtotherightisthatofawatervapor
bubble,invariousstagesofcollapse,nearthe
surfaceofsomesolidboundarysuchasthevaneof
animpeller.Thesolidlinesarethosethatwere
predictedbyamodelandthedottedlinesarethose
obtainedthroughexperimentation.Instages1
through3compressionisfairlyspherical,but
startinginstage4thereisasmalldepressiononthe
sideofthebubbledirectlyoppositeofthesolid
boundary.Thisdepressionbecomesmore
pronouncedinthelatterstagesandthebubble
becomestoroidalinitsthreedimensionalshape.
Uponimplosion,thereentrantmicrojetwouldnormallyformatthebottomofthe
bubbleanddirectitsenergytowardsthesolidboundary.

Thepicturetotherightisaseriesofactual
photographsofbubblecollapsebelowa
solidboundary.Italsoshowsthe
formationofthereentrantmicrojet.In
stage7youcanseeasmalldotatthe
bottomofthebubble.Itgrowsinsizein
thefollowingstagesandappearsto
penetratetheuppersurfaceinstage14.
Stage18isjustpriortototalcollapseand
generationoftheshockwave.Remember
thatat68Fthebubblevolumeis56,000X
thatoftheliquidstate.(EnlargetheAcrobatpagesizeto150%foramoredetailed
view.)

Thetwopicturesontheleftare
ofthesameareaofacentrifugal
pumpimpeller.Theoneonthe
leftshowsatypicalcavitation
patternduringflow.Bubbles
areformingtotheleftand
implodingattheimpellers
surfaceintheupperright.The
pictureontherightshowsthe
actualdamagecausedby
continuousimplosionofbubbles
inthesamearea.

Thepicturetotherightshowsdamageatthelow
pressuresideoftheleadingedgeofanimpeller
vaneduetosuctioncavitation.

IsaidearlierthatsuctioncavitationiscausedbyinadequateNPSHaattheinletofthe
pump.Thisisthemostcommoncausebut,otherfactorscangiverisetothisformof
cavitationevenwhenthecalculatedormeasuredNPSHaisadequateforaparticular
pump.Forexample,entrainedairinthewatercan,attimes,giverisetocavitation.
Vortices(bothsurfaceandsubsurface)canalsocauseittooccur.And,impropersuction
pipingtoomanyelbowstooclosetotheinletisveryoftenaculprit.Allofthese
potentialcauseshaveonethingincommontheycanchangethemannerinwhich
waterflowsintoapumpssuction.

Acentrifugalpumpisdesignedforwatertoenteritssuctioninadirectionthatisaxial
totheimpellereye.Additionallythewatershouldundergoasmooth,laminarflow
withstreamlinesthatareparalleltothataxisandatavelocitythatprecludestheonset
ofturbulence.Iftheseconditionsaremet,thewaterwillentertheeyeoftheimpeller
andcontactthevanesattheangleintendedbythepumpdesigner.But,ifoneofthe
factorsmentionedaboveoccurs,axialflowintothesuctioncanbeinterrupted.
Prerotationisatermthatdescribesaswirlingmotionofwaterinthesuctionpiping.In
simplelanguage,itmeansthatthewaterbeginstorotateinonedirectionortheother
priortoenteringtheimpeller.Indoingso,itcancontacttheimpellervanesatan
unintendedangleanditsinteractionwiththeimpellersurfacescancreatelowpressure
areaswherecavitationcanoccur.Inanutshell,almostanyeventthatcausesturbulent
floworprerotationinthesuctionpiping,hasthepotentialtofostertheonsetofsuction
cavitation.Thereare,however,thosewhowouldprobablydisagreewiththetotalityof
thisstatement.

RecirculationCavitation

Inanycentrifugalpump,thereisalwaysanextremelysmallflowfromtheimpeller
dischargebacktothesuctionviatheclearancebetweentheimpellerhubandthefront
wearringorthroughthebalancingholesintherearshroud.Normallythisflowhas
little,ifany,effectuponpumpperformance.But,whencertainpumpsrunatflowswell
belowtheirdesignpoints,waterthatwasintendedtoexitthedischargecancreatea
secondaryflowpathandrecirculatewithinthepumpitself.Therearetwodifferent
formsofthisrecirculationthatcanoccursuctionanddischarge.Bothtypesexhibit
similartraitsandtheircommonthreadistwopathsofflow,eachmovinginopposite
directions.Whenthisoccursvorticescanformbetweenthepathsandcreatepocketsof
lowpressurethatcangiverisetocavitation.Recirculationcavitationanditspotential
damagetendstobecloselyrelatedtopumpdesign.Somedesignscreatehigherlevels
ofrecirculationthandoothers.

Suctionrecirculationoccurswhenwater,thatwouldnormallyflowtowardsthe
periphery,reversesflowandtravelsbackthroughtheimpellereye,nearitsdiameter,
andintotheinletofthepump.Thisbackwardsflowcreatesatumblingorrotating
motionthatinteractswiththeincomingaxialflowtoformvorticeswhichcanresultin
cavitation.Adistinctivedifferencebetweennormalsuctioncavitationandthatof
suctionrecirculationisthatmostofthedamagefromthelattertendstooccuronthe
highpressuresideofthevane.Thus,itisusuallyeasytodiagnosewhichformwas
presentatthetimethedamageoccurred.Also,thenoisecausedbysuction
recirculationcavitationisgenerallymoreintensethanthatcausedbylowNPSHa
cavitation.Unfortunately,Iwasunabletofindasuitablepicturebecausedamagefrom
thisformofcavitationisnotvisiblethroughtheeyeofanimpeller.Insteadamirror,
similartothoseusedbydentists,isrequiredtoviewdamagetotheundersides(high
pressureside)ofthevanes.

Dischargerecirculationoccursatthetips
oftheimpellervanesorinthedischarge
nozzleofthepump.Aswithsuction
recirculation,thisbidirectionalflowcan
createvorticesthatcanleadtocavitation.
Mostofthedamageoccursonthehigh
pressuresideofthevanetipsandshroudperipherybutthecutwateranddischarge
nozzlearealsosusceptible.Thepicturetotherightshowsanexampleofdamagedue
todischargerecirculationcavitation.

Ihopethatthisshorttutorialhashelpedyougainabetterunderstandingofcavitation.
Yourcomments,corrections,andsuggestionsarewelcome.Onthesurface,the
centrifugalpumpappearstobeanextremelysimplemachine.But,aswedelveintothe
dynamicsthatoccurinitsimpeller,itcanbecomequitecomplex.Hopefullythis
tutorialsintuitiveapproachtounderstandingthesedynamicsmadethemlesscomplex.
Ifyouareinterestedinanindepth,andquiteacademic,studyofcavitationclickonthe
linkbelow.

Credits

Thefigureonpage8andthetoptwopicturesonpage9arefromCavitationand
BubbleDynamicsbyChristopherEarlsBrennen,OxfordUniversityPress1995.
Availableonlineathttp://caltechbook.library.caltech.edu/1/00/content.htm

JoeEvansAugust2005