The objective of this study is to investigate the collapsing behavior of cavitation, which leads to the erosion of material. An experimental examination was conducted in a channel with a semi-circular cylinder obstacle, which serves as a “vortex cavity” generator. Cavitation was achieved by employing a range of pressure differences over the test section and a high-speed camera was used to observe the cavitation behavior. The flow field behind the semi-circular cylinder was investigated as a characteristic example of bluff bodies that exhibit a distinct, separated vortex flow in their wake. The cases with the bluff body were also compared to the ones without the bluff body. Erosion tests were performed using paint (stencil ink). The intensity of cavitation is characterized by the cavitation number (σ); the lower the cavitation number, the higher the cavitation intensity. The erosion (removal of paint) after 40 min of operation revealed distinct and repeatable results. For a high cavitation number, a large number of von Karman-vortex-like cavities are shed downstream of the obstacle. This results in a higher number of collapse events and, ultimately, more erosion. On the other hand, at lower cavitation numbers, the erosion took place at the cavity's closure line. It was seen that with the increase in cavitation intensity, the erosion area increases. Moreover, the bluff body obstacle promotes and localizes cavitation-induced erosion on the sample plate compared to the cases without the bluff body. This ultimately means that in the cases with the bluff body, less power is required in the system to cause erosion. The erosion patterns caused by the bluff body cavitation are more repeatable compared to the cases without the bluff body due to the localized cavitation load. The erosion pattern from the paint test is also compared with a material loss test (30 h of operation). A very good qualitative agreement is found between the two tests, with the paint test requiring approximately two orders of magnitude less running time of the facility. We demonstrate that paint tests, combined with this geometry, provide an efficient and economical way to investigate erosion patterns compared to expensive material loss tests.

In this paper, the cavitating flow around a bluff body is studied both experimentally and numerically. The bluff body has a finite length with semi-circular cross section and is mounted on a surface in the throat of a converging-diverging channel. This set-up creates various 3D flow structures around the body, from cavitation inception to super cavities, at high Reynolds numbers (Re=5.6×10⁴−2.2×10⁵) and low cavitation numbers (σ=0.56−1.69). Earlier studies have shown this flow to be erosive and the erosion pattern varies by changing the flow rate and w/o the cylinder; hence, this study is an attempt to understand different features of the cavitating flow due to the cylinder effect. In the experiments, high-speed imaging is used. Two of the test cases are investigated in more detail through numerical simulations using a homogeneous mixture model. Non-cavitating simulations have also been performed to study the effect of cavitation on the flow field. Based on the observed results, vortex shedding can have different patterns in cavitating flows. While at higher cavitation numbers the vortices are shed in a cyclic pattern, at very low cavitation numbers large fixed cavities are formed in the wake area. For mid-range cavitation numbers a transitional regime is seen in the shedding process. In addition, the vapour structures have a small effect on the flow behaviour for high cavitation numbers, while at lower cavitation numbers they have significant influence on the exerted forces on the bluff body as well as vortical structures and shedding mechanisms. Besides, at very low cavitation numbers, a reverse flow is observed that moves upstream and causes the detachment of the whole cavity from the cylinder. Such a disturbance is not seen in non-cavitating flows.

Cavitation is a complicated multiphase phenomenon, where the production of vapor cavities leads to an opaque flow. Exploring the internal structures of the cavitating flows is one of the most significant challenges in this field of study. While it is not possible to visualize the interior of the cavity with visible light, we use X-ray computed tomography to obtain the time-averaged void fraction distribution in an axisymmetric converging-diverging nozzle (’venturi’). This technique is based on the amount of energy absorbed by the material, which in turn depends on its density and thickness. Using this technique, two different partial cavitation mechanisms are examined: the re-entrant jet mechanism and the bubbly shock mechanism. 3D reconstruction of the X-ray images is used (i) to differentiate between vapor and liquid phase, (ii) to obtain radial geometric features of the flow, and (iii) to quantify the local void fraction. The void fraction downstream of the venturi in the bubbly shock mechanism is found to be more than twice compared to the re-entrant jet mechanism. The results show the presence of intense cavitation at the walls of the venturi. Moreover, the vapor phase mixes with the liquid phase downstream of the venturi, resulting in cloud-like cavitation.

Partial cavitation dynamics in an axisymmetric converging-diverging nozzle are investigated experimentally. Shadowgraphy is used to visualize and analyze different cavitation regimes. These regimes are generated by changing the global static pressure and flow velocity independently. Cloud cavitation is the most interesting and complex regime, because the shedding of vapor clouds is caused by two different mechanisms: the re-entrant jet mechanism and the bubbly shock mechanism. The dynamics are investigated using a position-time diagram. Using such a diagram we show that for cavitation number σ > 0.95 the cavity shedding is caused by the re-entrant jet mechanism, and for σ < 0.75 the mechanism responsible for periodic cavity shedding is the bubbly shock mechanism. Both mechanisms are observed in the transition region, 0.75 < σ < 0.95. The shedding frequencies, expressed as Strouhal numbers, collapse on a single curve when plotted against the cavitation number, except for the transition region. The re-entrant jet mechanism is a pressure gradient driven phenomenon, which is caused by a temporary stagnation point at the cavity front. This leads to stick-slip behavior of the cavity. In the bubbly shock regime, a shock wave is induced by a collapse of the previously shedded vapor bubbles downstream of the venturi, which triggers the initiation of the detachment of the growing cavity. The propagation velocity of the shock wave is quantified both in the liquid and the mixture phase by means of the position-time diagram.