Modeling of hydrodynamic cavitation reactors: a unified approach

An attempt has been made to present a unified theoretical model for the cavitating flow in a hydrodynamic cavitation reactor using the nonlinear continuum mixture model for two-phase flow as the basis. This model has been used to describe the radial motion of bubble in the cavitating flow in two geometries in hydrodynamic cavitation reactors, viz., a venturi tube and an orifice plate. Simulations of the bubble dynamics in a venturi flow demonstrate the stable oscillatory radial bubble motion due to a linear pressure gradient. Due to an additional pressure gradient due to turbulent velocity fluctuations the radial bubble motion in case of an orifice flow is a combination of both stable and oscillatory type. The results of numerical simulations have been explained on the basis of analogy between hydrodynamic cavitation and acoustic cavitation.