Methods of Experimental Investigation of Cavitation in a Convergent - Divergent Nozzle of Rectangular Cross Section

Cavitation is a phenomenon with both positive and negative effects and with dynamic manifestations in hydraulic, food, chemical and other machinery. This article deals with the detection and dynamic behavior of cavitation clouds in water flows through a rectangular cross-section convergent-divergent nozzle. Cavitation was measured by methods applicable in engineering practice. Pressure, flow rate, noise, vibration, and amount of air dissolved in the liquid were measured and cavitation region was recorded with a high-speed camera. Evaluation of acquired images in connection with measured pressure pulsations and mechanical vibrations was performed with the use of the FFT method. In certain cases, dimensionless parameters were used to generalize the measurements. The results will be used to specify multiphase mathematical cavitation model parameters.