Control Valve - Why Cavitation Happens

And What To Do

Exion Asia Pte Ltd

997 pengikut
25 Agustus 2021

Cavitation is a damaging phenomenon that occurs within and downstream of control valves
under specific temperature, pressure and media velocity conditions. At its worst, cavitation
creates high noise levels and vibration, pitting, and erosion of valves and piping.

The damage done by cavitation can impair control valve performance, requiring reducing the
process throughput to compensate. Ongoing cavitation will result in progressive deterioration of
valve components, ultimately leading to leakage and premature valve failure. This progressive
damage undermines the life of the control valve. It may mandate performing unscheduled
maintenance to replace the valve and nearby eroded piping, incurring substantial product loss
and labour costs.

Most of the consequences and costs of cavitation are avoidable. However, fending them off
requires understanding the conditions that produce cavitation, choosing appropriate control
valves and other line components, and sizing them accordingly.

CAVITATION

The first step to a flashing or cavitating condition is the media’s vaporisation. Vaporisation
occurs when a reduction in the area available for flow leads to a significant increase in fluid
velocity, which in turn causes a drop in the fluid pressure. 

When the pressure at the valve is lower than the liquid-vapour pressure, gas bubbles form in the
medium. These bubbles may have a very erosive effect and should be reduced if possible.
These vapour bubbles are short-lived in certain conditions because recovery of pressure after the
vena contracta raises the pressure above the liquid-vapour pressure. The subsequent collapse of
the vapour bubbles is called cavitation — and it’s far more damaging.

The collapsing bubbles cause extremely violent shock waves caused by liquid microjets that
form when the vapour bubble collapses upon itself. If the bubble is very close to, or in contact
with, a solid wall, the microjets impact the wall with enough intensity to crack or chip the
surface. These impacts have been measured to be over a million pounds per square inch. So, it’s
little wonder why cavitation can produce so much damage within a control valve. If a bubble
implodes further away from solid walls in the body of the liquid, it generates spherical pressure
shock waves that produce unwanted noise.

Although cavitation damage can be a purely mechanical phenomenon, it’s often related to
corrosion or erosion due to the breakdown of the passivating film that’s supposed to protect the
base material from these forms of attack. One can minimise corrosion and erosion in the
presence of cavitation by using stainless steel and other hardened materials, particularly in the
trim, and, if possible, selecting trim components that progressively reduce flow velocity.

TELLTALE NOISE

When noise is present in liquid service, so is cavitation, and roughly to the same degree.
Cavitation bubble implosions are the primary source of disturbing noise; noise level is directly
related to cavitation intensity. In the early stages of cavitation, the noise can sound like sand
going through the valve. When the pressure difference across the valve rises, the intensity of the
cavitation increases, as does the severity of the noise.

Unfortunately, noise indicates that cavitation is underway and that premature valve failure is
possible if not likely. Fortunately, manual calculations or, better still, expert sizing software can
accurately predict cavitation noise. These noise predictions are a good indicator of potential
mechanical cavitation damage. If there’s a substantial amount of noise, corrosive damage also is
likely. The noise alone can’t predict that damage because it also depends on the medium and the
valve material.

Inaccurately specified flow conditions often fail. It’s common practice to add safety factors to
flow conditions, sometimes resulting in specified conditions that don’t resemble the actual ones
in any way. When this is the case, no software can help. When faced with cavitation, the very
first thing to do is to compare specified to actual conditions.

Predicting cavitation damage is complicated because it depends upon many factors (e.g.,
pressure drop, flow medium, valve type and materials). The onset of cavitation is called incipient
or partial cavitation and shouldn’t be confused with the start of damage. Incipient cavitation can
be used to predict cavitation noise but not damage.

The pressure drop needed to damage valves or piping mechanically depends upon the valve type,
size and material. Various studies suggest that the lower the recovery of the valve, the closer the
terminal pressure drop can be approached without cavitation damage. However, if the pressure
differential is minimal and the time the valve is exposed to the cavitation is short, there may not
be a problem.

ABATING NOISE AND CAVITATION

Because the most significant source of control valve noise in liquid applications is cavitation, it
makes sense to deal with the abatement of noise and cavitation together.

There are two basic approaches for dealing with control valve noise and cavitation:

1. Path treatment. This focuses on dampening the noise generated. It reduces the noise radiated
by the piping system but doesn’t eliminate cavitation inside the valve and adjacent piping.

2. Source treatment. This involves modifying the valve and its trim to decrease the cavitation
intensity or prevent the existence of cavitation. Whenever possible and feasible, source treatment
is the preferred approach for addressing cavitation and the associated hydrodynamic noise
because only it can avoid the excessive generation of cavitation bubbles across a wide flow
range.

Five different methods can be used (sometimes in combination) for source treatment of
hydrodynamic noise and cavitation abatement:

1. Velocity control 

Regulating the fluid velocity, which is equivalent to controlling the pressure in the valve
internals (trim), effectively avoids cavitation. This approach aims to get the lowest pressure in
the valve trim above the vapour pressure for the liquid in question. This is accomplished by
selecting valve trim with the optimal recovery coefficient (FL). For example, simply switching
from a butterfly to a ball valve would alter the coefficient. If standard trim doesn’t suffice, we
can select multistage trim that divides the valve pressure drop into several stages. There are two
basic methods for pressure-drop staging:

• Identical pressure drop across each stage; or

• Identical minimum pressure in each stage.

The first approach requires a constant-flow-area trim. Due to the equal area, the flow velocity in
each stage is constant, and the pressure drop is equal. The second approach involves an
expanding-area trim, in which the pressure drop in the first stages is very high. Still, higher
minimum pressure is maintained in the last stages, avoiding cavitation within the trim.

Expanding-area trim is recommended when extensive reduction of cavitation is necessary.

However, the velocity in the first stages of this trim will be quite high and may create erosion
problems. In practice, valve designers usually combine the two methods to arrive at an optimum
solution.
2. Acoustic noise and bubble size control

 The division of flow into multiple small streams has two effects: It creates a pressure stage and
reduces vapour bubbles in the fluid. Smaller bubbles cause higher-frequency noise fields in the
fluid and reduce the external vibration intensity of the pipe as well as the mechanical and erosion
effects of cavitation. The concept of using small jets to decrease control valve noise is based on
the principle that the jet produces a characteristic frequency above the pipe ring frequency,
thereby reducing the sound reradiated by the pipe.

3. Location control

 This principle of flow path design directs flow in the valve away from solid boundaries, so
bubble implosions will have less impact and, therefore, less potential for causing damage.

4. Flat baffle plates

When the pressure drop ratio becomes very high, it’s possible that anti-cavitation trim in a valve
won’t sufficiently lower the levels of noise and cavitation. In this case, using a baffle plate after
the valve can create backpressure to reduce the pressure drop across the valve and thereby
minimise noise and cavitation.

A flat baffle is a flow restrictor with a custom-made constant flow area and multiple holes for a
particular flow condition. The press baffle plate is a fixed restrictor, and it produces the desired
pressure drop only at a single flow — the one used for sizing the baffle. A baffle plate typically
is sized for the maximum valve flow. As the flow goes down, the pressure drop across the baffle
decreases and the pressure drop across the valve increases. Thus, the baffle plate loses its effect
at low flow rates.

5. Orifice plates

 An orifice plate is constant flow resistance. It only has one large hole rather than the multiple
small holes in a baffle plate. An orifice plate can be used for producing linear valve installed
flow characteristics and, in limited cases, for cavitation abatement. An orifice plate can be
installed both upstream and downstream of a control valve. The sizing is similar to that of a
baffle plate.

COMBAT CAVITATION

Cavitation can cause severe damage within control valves and nearby piping due to vapour
bubbles’ formation and high-intensity implosion immediately downstream of the vena contracta.
This mechanical impact damage, along with associated erosion and corrosion, can substantially
impair control valve performance, resulting in lower productivity and product quality along with
the added costs of product loss, labour and materials when valves fail prematurely.

Cavitation can be avoided with a sound system design and regular maintenance. With the
necessary steps taken, this helps to increase the lifespan and efficiency of the equipment.  
If there are any cavitation damages, a reliable partner can assist in identifying the cause and
providing a solution. At Exion Asia, we have the complete set of skills and equipment
capabilities to solve any operational problems in valves and pumps. Be rest assured that we only
put our best to help and bring the best value to all our customers.  

Contact us now and let us be your winning pit crew!