Prediction of Cavitation Intensity and Erosion Area in Centrifugal Pump by Using Cavitating Flow Simulation with Bubble Flow Model

We developed a numerical simulation code and a method of estimation for predicting the cavitation erosion in pumps. Cavitation erosion is closely related to cavitation intensity based on bubble dynamics. A “bubble flow model” simulates detailed bubble behavior in a cavitating flow. Cavitation intensity was estimated by analyzing the bubble pressure and bubble nuclei distribution in a centrifugal pump. We simulated the impulsive bubble pressure that varied in microseconds. The impulsive pressure was considered to be related to actual bubble collapse, which caused cavitation erosion. The erosion area was experimentally detected using a paint method. The predicted high cavitation intensity area agreed well with the experimental erosion area, since the predicted and experimental areas were both located between the shroud and mid-point of the blade near the leading edge. Our code was thus effective for estimating the cavitation intensity and predicting the erosion area around the impeller of a centrifugal pump.