Topics of Interest

Cavitation Fundamentals

Cavitation in High Pressure Systems

Cavitation also occurs where a flow is forced to change direction and then the fluid inertia causes the fluid to tend towards the outside of the bend. The pressure across the bend increases towards the outside and lower pressure regions develop on the inside of the bend. In cases where the pressure on the inside of the bend drops below the fluid vapour pressure, cavitation bubbles will form. These bubbles are then transported with the flow until they collapse.

In addition, cavitation can be formed when a high velocity jet of fluid exits an orifice into a stationary fluid. In such a case, the shearing of fluid layers where the fluid jet meets the stationary fluid can cause cavitation bubbles to form.

These forms of cavitation can be found in many fuel injection systems.

Figure 1