Suppression of Cavitation Instabilities in an Inducer by the Circumferential Groove With Swirl Breakers

Abstract

A circumferential groove with swirl breakers was designed and its effect on the suppression of cavitation instabilities in an inducer was investigated in experiments. The circumferential groove with the swirl breakers could suppress almost all cavitation instability phenomena effectively and improve suction performance. Observations of flow fields in CFD showed that the swirl breakers reduced the circumferential velocity of the flow near the blade tip at the inlet of the inducer. It was suggested that such a flow pattern succeeded in suppressing cavitation instability phenomena, including pressure fluctuations with high frequencies caused by the interaction of the blades with backflow vortices which were visible as backflow vortex cavities in low suction pressure.