Cavitation:
Cavitation is defined as the phenomenon of formation of vapour bubbles of a flowing liquid in a region, where the pressure of the liquid falls below its vapour pressure and the sudden collapsing of these vapour bubbles in a region of higher pressure. When the vapour bubbles collapse, a very high pressure is created. The metallic surfaces, above which these vapour bubbles collapse, is subjected to these high pressures, which cause pitting action on the surface. Thus cavities are formed on the metallic surface and also considerable noise and vibrations are produced.
Cavitation includes formation of vapour bubbles of the flowing liquid and collapsing of the vapour bubbles. Formation of vapour bubbles of the flowing liquid take place only whenever the pressure in any region falls below vapour pressure. When the pressure of the flowing liquid is less than its vapour pressure, the liquid starts boiling and the vapour bubbles are formed. These vapour bubbles are carried along with the flowing liquid to higher pressure zones, where these vapour condense and the bubbles collapse. Due to sudden collapsing of the bubbles on the metallic surface, high pressure is produced and metallic surfaces are subjected to high local stress. Thus the surfaces are damaged.
Precaution against Cavitation:
The following are the Precaution against cavitation
i. The pressure of the flowing liquid in any part of the hydraulic system should not be allowed to fall below its vapour pressure. If the flowing liquid is water, then the absolute pressure head should not be below 2.5m of water.
ii. The special materials or coatings such as Aluminum-bronze and stainless steel, which are cavitation resistant materials, should be used.
Effects of Cavitation:
the following are the effects of cavitation.
i. The metallic surfaces are damaged and cavities are formed on the surfaces.
ii. Due to sudden collapse of vapour bubbles, considerable noise and vibrations are produced.
iii. The efficiency of a turbine decreases due to cavitation. Due to pitting action, the surface of the turbine blades becomes rough and the force exerted by the water on the turbine blades decreases. Hence, the work done by water or output horse power becomes less and efficiency decreases.
Hydraulic Machines Subjected to Cavitation:
The hydraulic machines subjected to Cavitation are reaction turbine and centrifugal pumps.
Cavitation in Turbines:
In turbines, only reaction turbines are subjected to cavitation. In reaction turbines the cavitation may occur at the outlet of the runner or at the inlet of the draft tube where the pressure is considerably reduced. (i.e. which may be below vapour pressure of the liquid flowing through the turbine) Due to cavitation, the metal of the runner vanes and draft tube is gradually eaten away, which results in lowering the efficiency of the turbine. Hence the cavitation in a reaction turbine can be noted by a sudden drop in efficiency. In order to determine whether cavitation will occur in any portion of a reaction turbine, the critical value of Thoma‟s cavitation factors sigma is calculated.
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