Observations of Oscillating Cavitation of an Inducer

Abstract

Oscillating cavitation of an inducer was observed through unsteady inlet pressure measurements and by use of high speed video picture, covering a wide range of flow coefficient and cavitation number. One of the purposes of the study is to identify a mode of rotating cavitation predicted by a linear analysis, and the other is to obtain a general view of oscillating cavitation. The number of rotating cavitation cells and their propagation velocity were carefully determined from the phase difference of pressure fluctuations at various circumferential locations. Various kinds of oscillating cavitation were observed: rotating cavitation rotating faster/slower than impeller rotation, cavitation in backflow vortices, and surge mode oscillations. Effects of inlet and outlet (effective) pipelength were also studied.