Experiment # 3

To demonstrate the cavitation phenomenon with

forced conduction

Cavitation
Cavitation occurs when a fluid's operational pressure drops
below it's vapor pressure causing gas pockets and bubbles to
form and collapse. This can occur in what can be a rather
explosive and dramatic fashion.
In fact, this can actually produce steam at the suction of a pump in a matter
of minutes. When a process fluid is supposed to be water in the 20-35C
range, this is entirely unacceptable. Additionally, this condition can form an
airlock, which prevents any incoming fluid from offering cooling effects,
further exacerbating the problem. The locations where this is most likely to
occur, such as:

At the suction of a pump, especially if operating near the net positive

suction head required (NPSHR)

At the discharge of a valve or regulator, especially when operating in a

near-closed position

At other geometry-affected flow areas such as pipe elbows and

expansions

Also, by processes incurring sudden expansion, which can lead to

dramatic pressure drops

Cavitation in Nature
It may not seem like such a fantastic event could occur very often, but it is
something that occurs all around us. Cavitation can be observed in fast
moving streams, usually at waterfalls or other places where a drastic
change in elevation occurs. This is a case where an obstruction, such as
a rock, creates a low pressure area that, if the water is moving fast
enough, is at the pressure required to vaporize water.

Cavitation at Home
Something like this can even happen at home. An old house tends to have
mineral deposits in the water pipes which can create obstructions that get in
the way of fluid flow. Just like with the fast moving stream, the
obstructions in the pipe can create low pressure areas. This makes a noise
inside the pipe that sounds like someone is hitting it with a hammer,
sometimes referred to as a "water hammer". So, if you hear a hammering
noise whenever you turn on your water, you probably have a cavitation
problem in your pipes and should have them looked at.

Other Forms of Cavitation

This is not the only way cavitation can occur. The fluid itself can be
stationary and an object, such as a propeller, can be moving. Cavitation can
also be induced with ultrasound waves. When cavitation is created using
sound waves it is considered non-inertial cavitation. All other forms of
cavitation are considered inertial.

Beneficial Uses
In Military:
Although cavitation is undesirable in many circumstances, this is not always
the case. For example,supercavitating torpedoes in use by the military
envelope the torpedo in a large bubble of cavitation. By eliminating contact
with water, and, therefore, eliminating the high drag of water, these
torpedoes can move very fast underwater, perhaps even
at supersonic speeds.

In industry:
Cavitation can also be a boon in ultrasonic cleaning devices. These devices
affect cavitation using sound waves and use the collapse of the cavitation
bubbles to clean surfaces. Used in this manner, the need for sometimes
environmentally harmful chemicals can be reduced in many industrial and
commercial processes that require cleaning as a step. Still the details on how
bubbles clean are not understood.

In industry, cavitation is often used to homogenize, or mix and break down

suspended particles in a colloidal liquid compound, such as paint mixtures, or
milk. Many industrial mixing machines are based upon this design principle. It
is usually achieved through impeller design, or by forcing the mixture
through an annular opening that has a narrow entrance orifice with a much
larger exit orifice: the drastic decrease in pressure as the liquid accelerates
into the larger volume causes cavitation to take place. This method can be
controlled with hydraulic devices that control the size of the inlet orifice,
and this allows for adjustment to the process "on the fly", or for different
substances. The outer surface of this type of mixing valve, upon which the
cavitation bubbles are driven against to cause their implosion, undergoes
tremendous stress, and is often constructed of super-hard or tough
materials such as stainless steel, Stellite, or even polycrystalline diamond
(PCD).
Cavitating water purification devices have also been designed, in which the
extreme conditions of cavitation can break down pollutants and organic
molecules. Spectral analysis of light emitted in sonochemistry reveal
chemical and plasma based mechanisms of energy transfer. The light emitted
from cavitation bubbles is termed sonoluminesence.

Problems
Cavitation is, in many cases, an undesirable occurrence. In devices such as
propellers and pumps, cavitation causes a great deal of noise, damage to
components, vibrations, and a loss of efficiency.
When the cavitation bubbles collapse, they focus liquid energy to very small
volumes. Thereby, they create spots of high temperature and emit shock
waves which are the source of noise. The noise created by cavitation is a
particular problem in submarines, as the noise destroys its stealth .
The collapse of cavities involves very high energies, and can cause major
damage. Cavitation can damage almost any substance. The pitting caused by
the collapse of cavities produces great wear on components and can
dramatically shorten a propeller or pump's lifetime.

Preventing Cavitation
Several actions can be taken to reduce the likelihood of cavitation occurring:

Fouling: The propeller must be kept unfouled by marine organisms and

free of nicks and scratches. Fouling causes a reduction in propeller
efficiency as well as the increased chance for cavitation. Even a small
scratch can cause significant spot cavitation and result in an increase in
radiated noise as well as erosion of the blades.
Regular underwater inspections and cleaning of propellers should be carried
out to prevent the effects of fouling.

Speed: Every ship has a cavitation inception speed, a speed where tip
cavitation begins to form. Unless operationally necessary, ships should be
operated at speeds below cavitation inception.

Thrust: For ships shaft speed and thrust must not be increased too
quickly when accelerating the ship. An analysis of the equation for the
thrust coefficient (CT) reveals that high propeller thrust (T) and low speed
through the propeller (VA) increases the thrust loading coefficient which
may result in cavitation.

Pitch: Operators of ships with controllable pitch propellers must take

care that propeller pitch is increased or decreased in a smooth manner. This
is usually done as part of the ships propulsion control system. Incorrect
operation of the pitch control system may cause high thrust loading on the
propeller blades and increase the likelihood of cavitation.

Depth: Since cavitation is a function of hydrostatic pressure, increasing

hydrostatic pressure (i.e. depth) will reduce the likelihood of cavitation.
Submarines are uniquely susceptible to depth effects and cavitation as the
depth of the submarine affects hydrostatic pressure at the propeller
blades. When operating at shallow depth, hydrostatic pressure is decreased
and the propeller cavitates at lower shaft rpm and low thrust loading. As a
submarines depth increases, hydrostatic pressure increases and cavitation
inception is delayed. Therefore, a submarine can operate at higher
speeds at deeper depths with little worry about cavitation.

Procedure:

Keep the cavitation demonstration unit on the hydraulic bench and

arranged the apparatus.
Eliminate the errors in the barometer.
Find out the area of the inlet, throat and outlet precisely.
Turn on the pump in the hydraulic bench and fully open the valve of
the
bench to get a specific value of volume flow rate.
Measure the time from the stopwatch for a specific volume of liquid
(which would remain constant) in order to measure volume flow rate.
Measure the velocities and pressure at the inlet and the outlet, this
would show you the reason of cavitation.

Observations & Calculations:

A1=1.510-4 , A2=3.6010-5
No
of
obs

1
2
3
4
5

Volume
(V)

Time
(t)

Volume
flow
rate
(Q)

Inlet
pressure
(P1)

Throat
pressure
(P2)

V1=Q/A1

V2=Q/A2

(m3)

(s)

(m3/s)

(Bar)

(Bar)

(m/s)

(m/s)

510-3
510-3
510-3
510-3
510-3

9
6.91
5.03
4.84
4.44

5.5510-4
7.2410-4
9.9410-4
1.0310-3
1.1210-3

0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
0.86

-0.78
-0.76
-0.74
-0.705
-0.69

3.7
4.827
6.62
6.88
7.50

15.41
20.11
27.5
28.69
31.11

Specimen calculation:
A1=1.510-4 , A2=3.6010-5
Q=9.94x10^-4
As
V1=Q/A1
V1=9.94x10^-4/1.5x10^-4
V1=6.62

V2=Q/A2
V2=9.94x10^-4/3.60x10^-5
V2=27.4

Comments:

Bubbles were clearly shown in the throat section. And negative pressure
shows that local boiling occurred. Noise was very much clear. This cavitation
may lead to a serious damage to a big project or a part of a project.