4/8/2016

WhenBubblesDon'tBurst:WhyCavitationIsDamaging

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WhenBubblesDon'tBurst:WhyCavitationIsDamaging
byJoeEvans,Ph.D
Manypublicationsdiscussthecausesandcuresofcavitation,butfewaddressthereasonthose
bubblesaresodestructive.
Boilingistheprecursortocavitationinacentrifugalpump.Boilingisnotnecessarilyabadthing,but
ifthosebubblesdon'tburst,averypowerfulforcecanarise.Boilingisonewaythataliquidcan
undergoa"changeofstate"andtransformitselfintovapor.
Liquidwater,andthewatervaporbubblesthatformduringboiling,containtheverysame
molecules.Themajordifferencebetweenthetwoistheenergylevelofthemoleculesandthe
resultingvolumestheyoccupyasaresultofthatenergy.Vapormoleculeshaveamuchhigher
energylevel.Theirrapidandextendedmovementsrequireamuchlargervolumethantheirliquid
counterparts.
Boiling,andtheformationofthesevaporbubbles,occurswhentheenergyofaliquidwater
moleculereachesalevelthatisgreaterthanthepressureofthesurroundingwaterandthatofthe
atmosphericpressureactingonitssurface.Mostofthetime,wetendtoassociatethisprocesswith
theadditionofheat,butinthepumpindustryareductioninpressureisoftenthemajorfactor.
Atsealevel,whereatmosphericpressureis34ft,apotofwaterwillboilat212degF.Thevolume
ofthevaporbubblethatformsat212degFisapproximately1,673timesthatofitsliquid
counterpartatthesametemperature.Whenitrisestothesurface,itburstsandreleasesbothheat
andpressureenergy.Heatisthemajorcomponentofthisenergyrelease.Theshockwavethatis
generatedbytheburstisextremelysmallbecausethepressureinthebubbleisjustslightlymore
thanoneatmosphere,anditsenergyreleaseisinalldirectionsabovethesurfaceofthewater.
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IfyoumovethissamepottoDenver(elevation5000ft),youwillfindthatthewaterboilsatabout
203degF.Thelowerboilingpointisduetotheincreasedelevationanditscorrespondinglylower
atmosphericpressureof28.2ft.Lessenergy,intheformofheat,isrequiredtoproduceachangeof
statewhenthepressureonthewater'ssurfaceislower.Ifyoucontinuetoreducethatpressure,the
boilingpointisreducedproportionally,andatabout0.2ftwaterishappytoboilatitsfreezingpoint.
Thereverseisalsotrue:increasethepressureonthesurfacetomorethanoneatmosphereand
theboilingpointwillincreaseaccordingly.Ifanincreaseinpressureoccursduringtheboiling
process,itcanstopavaporbubblefrombursting.Instead,itwillcollapseandreturntoitsoriginal
liquidstate.
Asimilareventoccursinthecentrifugalpumpduringcavitation.Suctioncavitation,themost
commonandpredictableform,occurswhenNPSHafallsbelowthevaporpressureofthewaterin
thepump'ssuction(vaporpressureisthepressurerequiredtokeepwaterintheliquidstateata
giventemperature).Theareasmostsensitivetothistypeofcavitationtendtobethelowpressure
sidesoftheimpellervanesattheinlet.Inthisareavanecurvatureisgreatestand,whenwater
flowsoverthem,thepressureneartheirsurfacesisreduced.
Ifthepressureislowenough,vaporbubblescanform(duetoboiling)andthencollapse,afraction
ofasecondlater,astheyenteranareaofslightlyhigherpressure.Whenawatervaporbubble
collapses,itsenergyreleasediffersdrasticallyfromthatofaburst.Unlikeavaporbubblethatbursts
onthesurface,acollapsingbubbleactuallychangesbackintoaliquidstate.Althoughheatisa
componentofthischangeofstate,theshockwavesthataregeneratedduringthecollapsearethe
majorforces.
Shockwavesareformedbycollisionsamongthesurroundingwatermoleculesthatrushintofillthe
voidcausedbythecollapsingbubble,andseveralfactorscontributetowaveintensity.Research
showsthatthelifespanofacavitationbubble(fromformationtocollapse)isaboutthree
milliseconds(threeonethousandsofasecond),sothiseventoccursrapidly.Themorerapidlythe
surroundingwatercollides,thegreateritsenergy.
Thesizeofacavitationvaporbubblecanalsobemuchlargerthanonethatoccursduringthe
normalboilingprocessatsealevel.Forexample,at68degF(atypicalpumpingtemperature),the
vaporbubbleformedbycavitationisalmost35timeslargerthanoneproducedat212degF!A
largerbubblemeansthatagreatermassofwaterwillcollide.
Together,thesefactors(velocityandmass)representthetotalkineticenergyofthecollapsing
bubble(KE=mv2).Thehighvelocityduetothequickcollapseandtheincreasedmassdueto
thesizeofthebubblecanresultinunusuallyhighenergy.Butthereisanevenmoreimportant
eventthatcontributestothedestructiveforceofthecollapsingbubble.
Figure1isaseriesof18photographsthatshowstheprogressivecollapseofavaporbubble.Stage
1showsanearlysphericalbubblethatbeginstoflatteninStage2.Thistrendcontinuesthrough
Stage18,whichisjustpriortototalcollapse.

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Figure1.From"CavitationandBubbleDynamics"(OxfordUniversityPress1995)byChristopher
Brennenavailableasafreedownloadathttp://authors.library.caltech.edu/view/types/book.html.
PhotographswerefirstpublishedbyYTomitaandAShima(1990).Reproducedwithpermissionof
theauthor.
NotethataninterestingeventbeginsinStage7,whereasmallindentationbeginstoformonthe
bottomofthebubble.Thisformation,knownasa"reentrantmicrojet,"formsononeoftheflat
surfacesandcontinuestogrowinsizethroughStage13.InStage14,thisjetbreaksthroughthe
uppersurfaceofthebubbleanddirectstheforceofcollapseinasingledirection.
Researchhasalsoshownthatwhenabubblecollapsesnearasolidboundary(vaneorshroud),the
directionofthemicrojetwill,almostalways,betowardsthatboundary.Inotherwords,theentire
energyofcollapseisdirectedatamicroscopicareaoftheimpeller'ssurfaceandmetalerosion
occurs.
Thiscombinationofhighlyconcentratedenergyandfocuseddirectionmakesacollapsingbubbleso
destructive.Evenifthebubblescollapsewellabovethesurfaceoftheimpelleranderosionis
avoided,theshockwavescanstillcauseseverevibrationwhichcanleadtootherformsofpump
damage.
AbouttheAuthor
JoeEvansisthewesternregionalmanagerforHydromaticEngineeredWasteWaterSystems,a
divisionofPentairWater,740East9thStreetAshland,OH44805.Hecanbereachedviahis
websiteatwww.pumped101.com.Iftherearetopicsthatyouwouldliketoseediscussedinfuture
columns,drophimanemail.

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