Cavitation

The word cavitation refers to the formation of vapor bubbles in regions of low pressure within the flow field of a liquid. In some respects, cavitation is similar to boiling, except that the latter is generally considered to occur as a result of an increase of temperature rather than a decrease of pressure. This difference in the direction of the state change in the phase diagram is more significant than might, at first sight, be imagined. It is virtually impossible to cause any rapid uniform change in temperature throughout a finite volume of liquid. Rather, temperature change most often occurs by heat transfer through a solid boundary. Hence, the details of the boiling process generally embrace the detailed interaction of vapor bubbles with a solid surface, and the thermal boundary layer on that surface. On the other hand, a rapid, uniform change in pressure in a liquid is commonplace and, therefore, the details of the cavitation process may differ considerably from those that occur in boiling. Cavitation can cause damage to the material surfaces close to the area where the bubbles collapse when they are convected into regions of higher pressure. Cavitation damage can be very expensive, and very difficult to eliminate. As the result of the cavitation can damage the surface of the blade of pump and can influence the performance of the pump.