Experimental and numerical investigation of geometric effect on cavitation flow through orifice

Abstract

Due to the set of factors and conditions, the stream pressure through the orifice decreases, which can lead to the occurrence of the cavitation phenomenon. The most important factor in this regard is the geometry of orifice. In the first part of this study, the flow through two types of single-hole orifice and a multi-hole orifice were experimentally studied. The results showed that the single hole orifice with a two-sided sloped edge caused less pressure drop, which in order to control the cavitation phenomenon is more efficient compared to the single-hole and multi-hole orifices with one-sided sloped edges and the same equal diameter ratio. Additionally, all experiments were simulated in the second part of this research using finite volume methods. Considering the complexity of the problem, several numerical solutions were investigated to approach the experimental results. Finally, it was determined that the type of gridding, turbulence method, and cavitation model have a great influence on the accuracy of the obtained numerical results.