Prepared By:

mi El-haj
rahim Barakeh

2010006
2010006

Presented To Prof.Dr. Ali

Hammoud

Cavitations In
Pumps

Cavitations - a common problem in pumps and

control valves - causing serious wear and tear
and damage. Under the wrong condition,
cavitations will reduce the components life time
dramatically.

What is cavitations: Cavitations is defined as the rapid formation and

collapse of vapor bubbles or pockets in a liquid, due
to dynamic action, and resulting in the formation of
cavities on the surfaces of solid boundaries. These
solid boundaries can exist in any number of
structures including hydrofoils, pipes, and fittings
but, in our industry, the primary victims are
impellers and propellers.

The two pictures are of the same area of a

centrifugal pump impeller. The one on the left
shows a typical cavitations pattern during flow.
Bubbles are forming to the left and imploding at
the impellers surface in the upper right. The
picture on the right shows the actual damage
caused by continuous implosion of bubbles in the
same area.

The upper pictures is a series of actual photographs of bubble

collapse below a solid boundary.
It also shows the formation of the reentrant micro jet. In
stage 7 you can see a small dot at the bottom of the
bubble. It grows in size in the following stages and
appears to penetrate the upper surface in stage 14.
Stage 18 is just prior to total collapse and generation of
the shock wave.

What is the cause?

When water enters a pump, its velocity increases

causing a reduction in pressure within the pumping
unit. If this pressure falls too low, some of the water
will vaporize, forming bubbles entrained in the
liquid. These bubbles collapse violently as they
move to areas of higher pressure creating the noise
and vibration from the pump.

When the NPSH available falls below the vapor pressure

of the liquid in a pumps flow passages. Most published
definitions of the Net Positive Suction Head required by
a
pump
(NPSHr)
state
it is the head
to the
The
NPSH
available
to that
a centrifugal
pumprequired
combines
prevent
effects ofcavitations.
atmospheric pressure, water temperature, supply
elevation, and the dynamics of the suction piping. The
following equation illustrates this relationship. All values are
in feet of water.
NPSHa = Ha +/ Hz Hf + Hv Hvp
Where:
Ha is the atmospheric pressure
Hz is the vertical distance from the surface of the water to
the centerline of the pumps suction (positive or negative)
Hf is the friction formed in the suction piping
Hv is the velocity head at the pumps suction
Hvp is the vapor pressure of the water at its ambient

The Effects & Signs:Cavitations is a common occurrence but is the least understood of all
pumping problems.
Your pump is cavitating if knocking noises and vibrations can be heard
when it is operating. Other signs may be erratic power consumption and
fluctuations or reductions in pump output.
If you continue to operate your pump when it is cavitating, it will be
damaged. Impeller surfaces and pump bowls will pit and wear, eventually
leading to mechanical destruction.

How to avoid
cavitations:Cavitations can in general be avoided by
increasing the distance between the
actual local static pressure in the fluid
and the vapor pressure of the fluid at the actual temperature
This can be done by:
reengineering components initiating high speed velocities and
low static pressures
increasing the total or local static pressure in the system
reducing the temperature of the fluid

To begin with first one

Reengineering of Components Initiating High Speed Velocity
and Low
Static Pressure
Cavitations and damage can be avoided by using special
components designed for the actual rough conditions.
Conditions as huge pressure drops can - with limitations - be
handled by Multi Stage Control Valves
Difficult pumping conditions - with fluid temperatures close to
the vaporization temperature - can be handled with a special pump working after an other principle than the centrifugal pump.

Second:Increasing the Total or Local Pressure in the System

By increasing the total or local pressure in the system, the distance
between the static pressure and the vaporization pressure is increased
and vaporization and cavitations may be avoided.
The ratio between static pressure and the vaporization pressure, an
indication of the possibility of vaporization, is often expressed by the
Cavitations Number. Unfortunately it may not always be possible to
increase the total static pressure due to system classifications or other
limitations. Local static pressure in the component may
then be increased by lowering the component in the system. Control
valves and pumps should in general be positioned in the lowest part
of the systems to maximize the static head.
This is common for boiler feeding pumps receiving hot condensate
(water close to 100
oC) from a condensate receiver.

Third:Reducing the Temperature of the Fluid

The vaporization pressure is highly dependable of the fluid
temperature. Water, our most common fluid, is an example:

As we can see - the possibility of evaporation and cavitations

increases dramatically with the water temperature.
Cavitations can be avoided by locating the components in the
coldest part of the system. By example it is common to locate
the pumps in heating systems at the "cold" return lines.
The same is the situation for control valves. Where it is possible
they should be located on the cold side of heat exchangers.

Temperature
(oC)

Vapor
Pressure
(kN/m2)

0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
95
100

0.6
0.9
1.2
1.7
2.3
3.2
4.3
5.6
7.7
9.6
12.5
15.7
20
25
32.1
38.6
47.5
57.8
70
84.5
101.33

Finally,
Thank for your listening