Prediction of sheet cavitation in a centrifugal pump impeller with the three-dimensional potential-flow model

The occurrence of cavitation is one of the main limiting factors in the operation and design of centrifugal pumps. In this paper a model for the prediction of sheet cavitation is described. This model has been implemented in a three-dimensional finite-element package, employing the potential-flow approximation of the governing flow equations. At the interface between vapor and liquid, pressure equilibrium is required. The closure region of the cavity is modeled as the collapse of a bubble, whose motion is described by the Rayleigh-Plesset equation. The effect of displacement of the flow due to presence of the sheet cavity is incorporated by the transpiration technique. This is a linearised approach which is well-known from techniques for coupling inviscid-flow methods to boundary-layer methods. The model gives the location of the sheet cavity (if present); its length is thus also predicted. The model has been validated by comparing sheet cavitation at the blades of a centrifugal pump impeller, obtained from CFD-computations and from visual observations in a model test.