4/8/2016

Cavitationvs.AirEntrainment

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Cavitationvs.AirEntrainment
byLevNelik,Ph.D.,P.E.
Ifitsoundslikecavitation,feelslikecavitationandisbelievedtobecavitation,itmayormaynotbe
cavitation.The"cavitation"noiseweoftenhearfromproblematicpumpsresultsfrombubbles
passingthroughthepump.Butwhatkindofbubbles?Knowingthedifferencesbetweencavitation
andairentrainmentisthefirststeptopreventingequipmentdamage.
Themoreclassiccauseofthesenoisesisreducedsuctionpressurethatfallsbelowthenecessary
leveltosuppresstransformationoffluidfromtheliquidphasetovaporphase.Initially,justafew
bubblesformbecauseofreducedpressure.Thisfirststageiscalledincipientcavitation.Itcanbe
detectedwithspecialinstrumentation,butitisnotaudibletoahumanear.
Ifpressureisreducedfurther,morebubblesformandgrowintolargerbubbles,whichcontinue
towardtheimpellerblades.Thebladesbegintoimpartenergytothefluidmixtureandbubbles,in
fullaccordancewiththepressurevolumerelationship,causingthebubblestotransformbackto
liquid.Suchtransformationisrapid,andthebubblesdisappearquicklyinanimplosionlikemanner.
Whileitaffectsonlyasmallvolumeofthefluidstream,theinrushofthesurroundingliquidintoa
disappearingvaporbubbleisaviolent,highenergy,highpressureevent.Someofthebubbles
collapsenearthewallsoftheimpeller(slightlypasttheinletswherepressurestartstoincreaseand
isalreadyabovethevaporpressure),causingthemetaltochipawayandformcavities.The
frequencyofthecollapseisrandombutgenerallyisaround15,000to20,000hertz(Hz).The
energyisreleasedontotheinternalparts,causingpulsationsandrotorvibrations.These,inturn,
damagethesealsandbearings.

Images1and2.Examplesofcavitatedimpellers(Imagescourtesyoftheauthor)
Toassessapump'spropensityforcavitation,userscancomparenetpositivesuctionheadavailable
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Cavitationvs.AirEntrainment

(NPSHa)tonetpositivesuctionheadrequired(NPSHR).Thiscomparisonisnotthefocusofthis
articlebuthasbeencoveredextensivelyinliterature.Cavitatingpumpsarealsodemonstrated
duringPumpSchoolsessions,whereattendeescanobservebubbleformation,developmentand
collapse,whichcauseadropinflow,noiseandothersideeffects

AirEntrainment
Airentrainment,ontheotherhand,mayormaynotberelatedtosuctionpressurelevel.Incases
wherethereisarelationshiptosuctionpressure,thedissolvedaircomesoutofthesolutionwhen
suctionpressuredrops.Inaccordancewiththelawsofthermodynamics,thisdissolvedairgrows
rapidlyuntilitbecomesalargegaseousblock"airlocking"thepumpinlet.Apumpisnotagood
compressor,anditwillstoppumping.Asaresult,dischargepressuredropsandflowstops.
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Forexample,acrackinapipe,givenpressurebelowatmosphere,allowsairtobesuckedintothe
pipe.Thisairwillapproachandairlocktheimpellerinlet.Ifthevolumeofairissmall,thefrothy
mixtureofliquidandaircouldcontinuethroughthepump,causingnoiseandvibrationssimilarto
theeffectsofvaporthatresultsfromcavitation.Theresultantinstabilitiesandvibrationshammerthe
internals,causingdamagetosealsandbearings.Inthecaseofairentrainment,however,theair
bubblesdonotbecomeliquid,andtheirenergyissubstantiallylessthanthatoftheimploding
bubblesofcavitation.Forthisreason,airentrainmenttypicallydoesnotcausedamagetothe
impellersorcasing.
Onecommoncauseofairenteringapump'sinletisinsufficientliquidlevelsubmergenceabovethe
suctioninlet.Verticalturbinepumpsarenotoriousfortheseissues.Certainpublishedformulascan
helpenduserstocalculatetheminimumsubmergencerequiredtokeepairout.Pumpsizeand
entryvelocityarethemainparameters,makingatypicalminimumrequiredsubmergencevaryfrom
afewfeetforsmallendsuctionpumpstomorethan10feetforlargerverticalpumps.

SuctionVortexes
Suctionvortexesarehighlyunstableanddancearound,resultinginradialforce.Forexample,a10
footsubmergenceproducesroughly5poundspersquareinchgauge(psig)pressureatthebell
entrance.However,becausetheentirefunnelofairvortexisatatmosphericpressure,alocal
narrowzone(equaltoaprojectedareaofthevortexcone)existsanddynamicallyfluctuatesatthe
bellentrance.
Tounderstandthemagnitudeofthatforce,assumea36inchbellhasa3inchvortexcore,or
roughly10percentoftheperiphery.Alsoassumethatthebellis2feettall,atwhichpointthevortex
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Cavitationvs.AirEntrainment

enterstheimpellerandisbrokenupbytheblades.Theprojectedareaofthevortexcorecanbe
approximatedasarectanglethatis3incheswideand2feettall,or72squareinches,withvortex
corepressure(atmospheric)atthatpositionand5psigattheoppositeend(surroundingliquid).
Thatequatesto360poundsofforce(5x72=360)thatactsontherotor,assumingsomeextensionof
theshaftpassestheimpellertotheareaofthevortex.Thisforcedeflectstherotortotakeupthe
clearanceinthebushingsandimpellertips.Asthevortexjumpsatadifferentspot,theforce(dueto
achangeinpressuredirectionacrossthevortexcore)changesdirection,andamomentlaterit
changesagain.Thisfluctuationforce,typicallyoflowfrequency,translatesintovibrationsand
damageassociatedwithit.
Theassumeddimensions,aswellasthedetailsofthegeometryoftherotor,areapproximateinthis
example,andtheextentofthepenetrationofthevortexvariesfromonedesigntoanother.Asa
result,thecalculatedradialforceisaroughestimationonly.Itdoes,however,provideaquantitative
descriptionoftheinstabilitiesandissuescausedbytheentrainedvortex.
Propersubmergence,vortexbreakersandsumpdesignscanallimprovethisphenomenon.The
HydraulicInstituteprovidesformulas,specificrecommendationsandguidanceonthegeometryof
sumps,requiredsubmergencelevelsandmethodstooptimizeoperations.Alloftheseresources
canhelpendusersmaketheirpumpingsystemslesssensitivetotheseissues.
SeeotherPumpingPrescriptionsarticleshere.
AbouttheAuthor
Dr.Nelik(aka"Dr.Pump")ispresidentofPumpingMachinery,LLC,anAtlantabasedfirm
specializinginpumpconsulting,training,equipmenttroubleshootingandpumprepairs.Dr.Nelik
has30yearsofexperienceinpumpsandpumpingequipment.Hemaybereachedatpump
magazine.com.Formoreinformation,visitpumpingmachinery.com/pump_school/pump_school.htm.

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Cavitationvs.AirEntrainment

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