Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors

Theory Bites: Cavitation/Pumps

Engineering & Design
Theory Bites_ Cavitation Pumps

Theory Bites: Cavitation/Pumps

Theory bites are a collection of basic hydraulic theory and will touch upon pump design and other areas of pump industry knowledge.

Cavitation is the Phase change from liquid to vapor brought about by reducing the local pressure anywhere in a pump below the vapor pressure.

Simply defined, cavitation is the formation of bubbles or cavities in a liquid, developed in areas of relatively low pressure. The imploding or collapsing of these bubbles trigger intense shock waves inside the pump, causing significant damage to the impeller and/or the pump housing.

Cavitation is a significant concern in several application areas, including pumps, inducers, marine propellers, water turbines, and fuel injectors. One of the major problems caused by cavitation is a loss of pressure rise across a pump. Other problems include noise, vibration, and damage to metal components.

The simplest model of cavitation onset requires the local static pressure to drop below the vapor pressure in the fluid being pumped. Although this would be expected to happen principally at the inlet of the first stage, for example in a multistage pump, and while this is generally true, it also can occur at numerous other locations.

Check Stepanoff 1597, Centrifugal and Axial Flow Pumps for more details.

Source: Centrifugal Pump Design and Performance, 1997 D. Japikse

Read more Theory Bites!

Related Articles

Related Whitepapers

Design Optimization of Jet Fuel Pump for Aviation

Jet fuel pumps play a critical role in the safe and efficient operation of commercial aviation. The performance and reliability of these pumps directly impact…

The Cost Of Downtime In Manufacturing [Infographic]

Downtime can be the most expensive element of any manufacturing operation. Here are some important facts and tips you should know to cut down on…

AFT Fathom used to Model Central Heating Cycle of a State-of-the-art Combined Heat and Power Plant

Kerem Algüzey, design engineer at ENKA Insaat ve Sanayi A.S., used AFT Fathom to simulate the central heating cycle to inform the design of the…

Driving Energy Savings a Commercial Facility Energy Upgrade Project

Upgrading to Design Envelope pumps helped GAC save energy costs of 20,000 AED in the first year. Armstrong’s Pump Manager service provides reports and notifications…

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *