❖ Cavitation: Causes, Effects and Application

Group : 102

Name ID
Ali Ahamed Ali Mohamed 18011067
Hossam Gamal Mahmoud Khalil 18010553
Hossam Ahmed Abdelshafi 18010550
Osama Ayman Kamal Talis 18010297
Ali Al-Hussaini Ali El- Said 18011069

Doctor Eslam Reda

course Fundamentals of fluid mechanics

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 CONTENTS

CONTENTS .................................................................................................................. II

TERMINOLOGY / LIST OF SYMBOLS / ACRONYMNS ......................................... III

1. ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................ IV

.2 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1

2.1 Vaporization..................................................................................................... 1

2.2 Vapor Pressure ................................................................................................. 1

3. Cavitation and the Mechanism that causes it ........................................................... 2

4. Detrimental Effects of Cavitation: ........................................................................... 4

5. Cavitation symptoms: ............................................................................................. 4

6. Recommended Actions: .......................................................................................... 5

7. Cavitation in Applications ...................................................................................... 5

7.1 Cavitation in Marine Applications .................................................................... 5

7.2 Cavitation in Pump Applications ...................................................................... 7

7.2.1 What does Pump mean? ............................................................................ 7

7.2.2 What does centrifugal pump mean? ........................................................... 8

7.2.3 Centrifugal pump components: .................................................................. 8

7.2.4 the basic concept : ..................................................................................... 8

7.2.5 Centrifugal pumps types : .......................................................................... 9

7.2.6 Cavitation in Pump: ................................................................................. 14

8. Conclusions .......................................................................................................... 15

9. References ............................................................................................................ 15

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 TERMINOLOGY / LIST OF SYMBOLS / ACRONYMNS
σ – Cavitation Number
Pa – Ambient Pressure
Pc – Cavity Pressure ρ –
Density U – Fluid
velocity

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 1. ABSTRACT
This project will examine cavitation, the mechanism that causes it, it’s damaging effect on
mechanical components in the marine and automobile industry, cavitation mitigation and
the practical applications of cavitation. Cavitation is a phenomenon that occurs when
bubbles form in a liquid due to a pressure drop, then violently collapse. This is usually a
consequence of fluids moving at high velocity when the local pressure falls below vapor
pressure allowing small amounts of liquid to vaporize. When the bubble reenters a region
of high pressure, the bubble then collapses violently with enough energy and force to erode
metal. Damage from a single bubble collapse is almost immeasurable; it is the constant
accumulation of damage over long periods of time that causes significant removal of
material, hence “cavitation erosion”. The highly focused jets of liquid from the collapsing
bubbles blast away micro-amounts of material which eventually gives the surface a pitted
appearance. This is commonly a problem for mechanical components such as hydrofoils,
propellers, automobile engines and centrifugal pumps in working environments of in the
marine, automotive and industrial applications where liquid velocity is high and pressure
head is low.

However, cavitation is not totally unavoidable as there are several ways to suppress it; this
primarily includes increasing pressure head, lowering the liquid’s temperature, good
design practices or all of the above. Nor is cavitation always an undesirable phenomenon.
It has practical application in the marine industry as a means of reducing drag, enabling
objects and hydrofoils designed to function in supercavitating flows can achieve extremely
high speeds. The biomedical industry is investigating its application in the treatment of
certain diseases such as cancer. Even some forms of marine life use cavitation to catch
their prey.

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 2. Introduction
2.1 Vaporization
The change of liquid phase into gaseous phase is called vaporization. The vaporization
depends upon the prevailing temperature and pressure condition. It occurs due to the
continuous escaping of the liquid molecules from free surface of the liquid.

2.2 Vapor Pressure

In order to understand vapor pressure, let’s take a closed vessel in which a liquid (say
water) is present. Let the temperature of the water is 20 oC and pressure is
atmospheric.In this situation the vaporization of water takes place at 100 oC. As the
vaporization of water starts, the molecules of liquid (vapor) start escaping out from the
free surface of the liquid. The vapor molecules escaping out from the liquid free surface
gets collected between the free surface of the liquid and top of the vessel. These vapor
molecules exerts pressure on the free surface of liquid. This pressure exerted by the
vapor is called vapor pressure. Vapor pressure is also defined as the pressure at which
the liquid changes into vapor Now, again take a closed vessel filled with a liquid (say
water). Let the temperature of the water is 20 oC and the pressure in the vessel is
reduced by some external source. When the pressure is reduced, the vaporization
temperature is also reduced. Let the pressure inside the vessel is reduced to such an
extent that it becomes equal or less than the vapor pressure. In this situation the boiling
of water takes place even though the temperature of liquid is 20 oC. Thus the boiling of
water takes place even at ordinary temperature; if the pressure is reduced as such it
becomes equal to or less than the vapor pressure.

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 Figure: Vapor pressure graph of water

3. Cavitation and the Mechanism that causes it

Cavitation is defined as the process of formation of the vapor phase of a liquid when it is
subjected to reduced pressures at constant ambient temperature [1]. Although other factors
such as changes in temperature, turbulence and velocity play a role, the change of liquid
to vapor is the same. When bubbles then enter a region of higher pressure or lower
temperature, they collapse violently producing a jet of liquid that creates shockwave upon
impact with a surface enough force to erode metal [2]. Although the collapse is generally
a low-energy event, it is highly localized. The figure below illustrates the collapsing phase
and resulting jet, referred to as the re-entrant micro jet:

Figure 1: Collapsing phase of a vapor bubble [1]

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As previously mentioned the mechanism responsible for initiating cavitation is a pressure
drop causing the water to undergo a phase change from liquid to vapor. However, this is
unlike a boiling pot of water that is common to most of us. When water boils under normal
conditions, say 212°F at 1 atmosphere, it undergoes a phase change from liquid to vapor
and increases in volume over 1000x. The vapor bubble rises to the surface and bursts.
The pressure in the bubble is low (approx. 1 atm) and the circular area is relatively large.
Now if water was to change from liquid to vapor due to a pressure drop at an ambient
temperature such as 68°F it increases to over 50,000x its original volume. Almost the exact
opposite happens to a collapsing bubble due to cavitation compared to a bubble bursting
at the surface of a pot of boiling water. When this bubble begins to collapse the pressure
may be up to 10,000 atmospheres. Also, the bubble also tends not to collapse uniformly
in all directions and as a result, a powerful jet of liquid is formed as it rushes in to fill the
void once occupied by the bubble [2]. Unfortunately, the direction of the jet is most likely
to be directed at the surface of the device initiating the process, such as the blades of a
pump.

Figure 2: Actual stages of a collapsing vapor bubble. Note how the bubble collapses
unevenly and the formation of the jet [2].

A single cavitation event produces little if any noticeable damage. It is the accumulation
of damage from multiple events (thousands, millions, billions…) over time that causes
noticeable damage known as pitting, hence the phrase “cavitation erosion”. It is
sometimes referred to as cavitation corrosion, but this is inaccurate. Corrosion is due to
chemical reactions and erosion is the physical removal of material by an external force,

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but cavitation can help initiate corrosion by exposing surfaces. Therefore, corrosion due
to cavitation is a secondary mechanism.

The chances of cavitation occurring can be calculated based on the ambient pressure (P a),
cavity pressure (Pc), mass density (ρ) and velocity (U) of the liquid. Similar to the Euler
equation, the equation for cavitation number is:

σ=(Pa – Pc)/ (0.5 ρU 2)

Equation for cavitation number [1].

For a specific liquid, the value calculated by the cavitation number at which cavitation
occurs is called the critical cavitation number. Above this value cavitation does not
occur [1].

4. Detrimental Effects of Cavitation:

The formation of vapor bubbles in cavitation is not a major problem in itself but the
collapse of these bubbles generates pressure waves, which can be of very high frequencies,
causing damage to the machinery. The bubbles collapsing near the machine surface are
more damaging and cause erosion on the surfaces called as cavitation erosion. The
collapses of smaller bubbles create higher frequency waves than larger bubbles. So,
smaller bubbles are more detrimental to the hydraulic machines.
Smaller bubbles may be more detrimental to the hydraulic machine body but they do not
cause any significant reduction in the efficiency of the machine. With further decrease in
static pressure more number of bubbles is formed and their size also increases. These
bubbles coalesce with each other to form larger bubbles and eventually pockets of vapor.
This disturbs the liquid flow and causes flow separation which reduces the machine
performance sharply. Cavitation is an important factor to be considered while designing
Hydraulic Turbines

5. Cavitation symptoms:
• High frequency, random vibration.
• Sounds like the pump is pumping gravel.
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 • Although amplitudes may or may not be high enough to affect bearing life
significantly, cavitation causes excessive wear on the impeller and other internal
components.
• May come and go from one collection to the next as load varies.

6. Recommended Actions:

• First step should be to assess operational parameters - flow rates and pressure - that
can also influence this vibration. Actual flow & pressure should be compared to
the pump curve and design point of the pump. Insufficient flows and/or pressures
lead to cavitation.
• Second step should be an inspection of the internal components for excessive wear
with particular attention paid to the impeller vanes.

7. Cavitation in Applications
As previously stated, the most common mechanism to cause cavitation is local regions of
low pressure. An environment where this is most likely to happen is in marine
applications, industrial pumps and automotive engines, specifically diesel engines with
removable liners.

7.1 Cavitation in Marine Applications

In marine applications such as hydrofoils, water flows over the foil in the same way air
does over an airplane wing. The specially designed shape of the foil causes the fluid
traveling over it to accelerate and as a result, create a local region of low pressure. This
drop of pressure allows the water to boil into small bubbles which collapse as they reenter
a region of higher pressure as they approach the trailing edge of the foil. This is basically
the same mechanism that causes cavitation to occur on a propeller. The propeller moves
at very high velocity causing liquid to vaporize into bubbles at the outermost edges and
the core of tip vortices [1].

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 Figure 3: Cavitation of hydrofoils and propellers. The picture on the left shows the
formation of bubbles at the top surface of the hydrofoil where pressure is lowest. When
cavitation occurs beyond the trailing edge it is said to be “supercavitating”. The figure
on the right shows cavitation bubbles forming at the edges of a marine propeller in a
water tunnel. Note that the bubbles form at the edge and in trailing vortices where
velocity is highest.

In hydrofoils and propellers, cavitation has several negative consequences. Primarily,

cavitation causes erosion at a rate that accelerates as the surface becomes more and more
eroded by the cavitation action. As the surface becomes rougher due to erosion it increases
turbulence, increasing surface area and forming crevices or “pits” that can serve as
nucleation sites for cavitation to occur [1]. Secondly, the formation of bubbles causes these
devices to fall out of their efficiency range reducing the amount of lift or

thrust.

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 Figure 4: Cavitation’s effect on lift and drag.
The figure on the left illustrates the effect of
cavitation on lift on a hydrofoil, and once
cavitation occurs, efficiency suffers significantly
[1].

Thirdly, the shockwave produced by the accelerated jet of fluid emits sound – an extremely
undesirable consequence if the application needs to have minimal sound signature (i.e.
submarines and other naval ships).

7.2 Cavitation in Pump Applications

7.2.1 What does Pump mean?
A pump is a mechanical device used to force a fluid (a liquid or a gas) to move
forward inside a pipeline or hose. They are also used to produce pressure by the
creation of a suction (partial vacuum), which causes the fluid to rise to a higher
altitude, or it is a machine which converts mechanical energy into kinetic energy
of a pump fluid for the purpose of transporting that fluid from one point to another.

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 7.2.2 What does centrifugal pump mean?
a pump having vanes that rotate in a casing and whirl the fluid around
so that it acquires sufficient momentum to discharge from the
extremities into a volute casing which surrounds the impeller and in
which the fluid is conducted to the discharge pipe.
7.2.3 Centrifugal pump components:
• Impeller : is a rotating disc with curved blades like vanes.
• Volute casing : is a specially shaped pipe which contains the impeller and the
pumped fluid .

Figure: Centrifugal pump components

7.2.4 the basic concept :
• The fluid enters the pump at the center of the impeller called suction eye.
• The fraction between the fluid and the surface of the rotating impeller causes the
fluid to rotate like the fraction between the road and the rubber in your tires propels
your car forward .
• The impeller gains traction on the fluid as it spins in contact with it .
• The rotating fluid is thrown to the outside of the impeller by centrifugal force.

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• The centrifugal force is a phenomenon which causes object it is revolving around a
center point to move away from the center .
• This is how the fluid picks up kinetic energy from the impeller and this method of
energy transfer by the centrifugal force is why these pumps are called centrifugal
pumps.
• The amount of energy actually add to the fluid is dependent on three factors :
1. The density of the fluid .
2. The impellers speed of rotation .
3. The impellers diameter .
7.2.5 Centrifugal pumps types :
• Design elements :
1. Impeller construction
2. Bearing configuration
3. Orientation
1. Impeller construction :
Centrifugal pump impellers are selected with purpose and are dependent upon the
application. Some are better for solids handling, others are better for high efficiency. Read
on to find out which impeller will be best for your centrifugal pump application.
• Open Impeller:

An open impeller has vanes that are attached to a center hub and
mounted directly onto a shaft. There is no wall surrounding the
vanes which makes open impellers weaker than closed or semi-
closed valves.
Open impellers are generally faster and easier to clean and
repair. Open impellers are usually used in smaller pumps and
pumps that handle suspended solids.

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 • Semi-Closed Impeller:
Semi-Closed impellers have a back wall that adds strength to
the impeller. Semi-closed impellers are usually used with
liquids or products that have solids. Reduced efficiency is a
common problem with semi-closed impellers, but the ability
to pass solids is an important trade-off.

• Closed Impellers:
Closed impellers have a back and front wall around the
vanes, to increase strength. Closed impellers are used
primarily in larger pumps and can be used in applications
that handle suspended-solid service.
These types of impellers are commonly found in clear
liquid applications. They don't do well with solids and are
difficult to clean if they become clogged.
2. Bearing configuration :
• Bearing Selection:
› Cylindrical Roller Bearings
› Angular Contact Ball Bearings
› Double Row Angular Contact Ball Bearing
› Deep Groove Ball Bearings
• Bearing Requirements
› Long life under high axial loads
› Small axial free play
• Operating Conditions
› Speed: 1500 rpm – 3000 rpm
› Axial & radial loads
3. Orientation :
• Vertical Centrifugal Pumps
• Horizontal Centrifugal Pump
• Differences Between Vertical and Horizontal Centrifugal Pumps:

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 From the perspective of the selection, most people would like to use the
horizontal centrifugal pump, mainly because the horizontal pump has simple
overhauling and maintenance. The vertical centrifugal pump is troublesome in
repairing, and it needs to be lifted in maintaining every time. Moreover, the
long-axis pump needs to change the sliding bearing under the liquid after being
used for a long time. If it is not replaced, the possible consequence is that the
centrifugal force of the shaft is getting larger and larger, and the value of the
shaft jump is increased. If it is not replaced in time, it will cause a mechanical
accident. Moreover, in installing, measures should be taken to guarantee
absolute levelness. Now that there are so many shortcomings, why would the
operator still choose the vertical centrifugal pump?

The vertical centrifugal pump is usually used in the working condition of unable
to have flow backward and install underground, or when there is no empty site
as the foundation of the horizontal centrifugal pump, the vertical centrifugal
pump can only be placed on the tank.

If the self-suction ability of the ordinary horizontal pump(not the self-suction

pump) is very poor, the media is fundamentally unable to be extracted from the
tank. Therefore, the horizontal pump and vertical pump are incomparable.

The specific differences between vertical centrifugal pumps and horizontal

centrifugal pumps are as follows:

• Different appearance. The vertical pump is vertical, but the horizontal pump is
horizontal.

• Different connection means. The vertical pump is superposed from bottom to

top, and the horizontal pump is arranged on the basement in the vertical
direction.

• Different covering space. The vertical pump covers a small area, but the
horizontal pump covers a big area.

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• The difficulty of maintenance is different. It is difficult to repair the vertical
pump. In case of a maintenance, the impeller can be repaired after removing all
upper parts. However, the horizontal pump is relatively easier.

• Different installation means. The vertical pump is in overall connection, and the
installation is rather easy. However, the horizontal pump has to be conducted
with the accuracy adjustment after installation.
• The pipeline arrangement has different requirements. The vertical pump can
adopt vertical and horizontal installations of the pump. The inlet and outlet of
the horizontal pump can be installed at 0/90/180°.
Application scenes of the vertical centrifugal pump and horizontal centrifugal
pump
The vertical centrifugal pump is divided into the vertical multi-stage centrifugal
pump and the vertical single-stage centrifugal pump. Generally, a vertical multi-
stage centrifugal pump is used for a small-flow high-lift centrifugal pump
(commonly used in a building water supply system), and a single-stage
centrifugal pump is generally used in conditions with rather balanced flow and
lift (commonly used in closed circulation system).

The horizontal pump is used in conditions with big flow and small lift(commonly
used in the building air-conditioner system). This centrifugal pump occupies a
lot of space. The vertical single-stage centrifugal pump adopts the pipeline
installation and can be directly installed on the pipeline, thus occupying no great
space. However, the pump power generally does not exceed 75KW, otherwise,
the pipeline may have a relatively large.
The horizontal centrifugal pump is required to install the basement. In normal
conditions, it is the single-stage end suction port/double-suction pipeline
downwards inlet and upwards outlet/horizontal inlet and outlet. The inlet pipe
diameter is larger than the outlet pipe diameter. The power can be very high.
Its efficiency is higher than the vertical pump, and it has a smaller shock on the
pipeline. As to the big pump, it is usually recommended to adopt the horizontal
type.

In short, the vertical centrifugal pump does not occupy a large space, but the

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power is not suggested to be too high. The horizontal type occupies a large
space, but the efficiency is high, and the power can be very high.

Vertical Centrifugal Pump

Horizontal Centrifugal Pump

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 7.2.6 Cavitation in Pump:
Centrifugal pumps are often victims of cavitation if the local pressure falls below the vapor
pressure of a specific liquid. The pressure of the pump in feet of water is known as the
Net Pressure Suction Head available (NPSHa) and this is the sum of atmospheric pressure
(Ha), vertical distance from water surface to pump centerline (+/- Hz), friction in the pump
(Hf), pump flow velocity (Hv) and vapor pressure of the water at ambient pressure (Hvp)
[2].

NPSHa = Ha + Hz – Hf + Hv – Hvp
Equation for NPSHa [2].

If the NPSHa falls below the Net Pressure Suction Head required (NPSHr) damaging
cavitation will occur, this is called suction cavitation. It can be caused by design, specific
operating conditions or obstructions in the system. NPSHr is a value determined by the
manufacturer through testing. The manufacturer may also determine Net Pressure Suction
Head inception (NPSHi), this is the pressure required by the pump to suppress all
cavitation. In between NPSHi and NPSHr non-damaging cavitation can occur [2].

Figure 8: Cavitation damage in some pumps with different time periods .

Other ways a pump can experience cavitation is through recirculation and excessive
discharge velocities [2]. In recirculation, the relative velocity of two opposed flows of
liquid is very high, thus causing cavitation.

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 8. Conclusions
Cavitation is a naturally occurring phenomenon in which an external force inducing a
pressure drop causes liquid to vaporize, and then the vapor bubbles violently collapse. The
incredibly fast, uneven collapse of the vapor bubble produces a high velocity jet of liquid
that can damage surfaces because this low energy event is so highly focused. The shock
wave also produces unwanted sound and vibration. Individually, a single collapse of a
vapor bubble produces virtually no damage. But because cavitation is generated
constantly in high velocity flows their damage compounds over time and can be seen as
pitting. The rate of erosion of the surface is accelerated over time as its deteriorated surface
creates more turbulence thus creating more cavitation. This is especially bad for metals
such as iron and steels where surface degradation is worsened by a tag-team effect of
corrosion. This makes cavitation a unique engineering problem.

Generally, in most applications cavitation can be reduced or eliminated entirely by

increasing system working pressure, controlling temperature and maintaining proper
concentrations of cavitation mitigating additives.

It also has many practical applications in the marine industry, biomedical field and nature.
Supercavitating flows allow vessels to travel faster than ever thought imaginable.
Researchers in medicine are developing ways to harnesses the destructive power of
cavitation to physically destroy diseases and some species of shrimp use cavitation as a
tool for hunting and communication. Cavitation can even be used to purify water by using
its destructive power to breakdown harmful substances into nontoxic compounds.

9. References
1. Eisenberg, Phillip “Cavitation”. Hydronautics Incorporated.
<http://web.mit.edu/hml/ncfmf/16CAV.pdf>

2. Evans, Joe PhD. “Cavitation – A largely Misunderstood Phenomenon”. August

2005.

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<http://www.pumped101.com/cavitation.pdf>

3. Ford Doctors Diesel Technician Society, “Cavitation Erosion”. November 30,

2009. <http://www.forddoctorsdts.com/articles/article-09-02.php>

4. Fleetguard Bulletin No.: 3.300.963A “Diesel Engine Liner Pitting”

<http://www.fleetguard.com/pdfs/product_lit/asia_pacific_brochures/3300963A.pdf>

5. Machine Tech Video Blog youtube channel.

6. Google schooler.

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