DON MARIANO MARCOS MEMORIAL STATE UNIVERSITY
MID LA UNION CAMPUS
San Fernando City, La Union
ME 147 – FLUID MACHINERY
CAVITATION
2ND SEMESTER SY 2018-2019
THELMA T. OBILLO
Faculty, Mechanical Engineering
ME 147 – FLUID MACHINERY
CAVITATION
DEFINITION
Cavitation is a phenomenon which occurs in a centrifugal pump when the
pressure at any point inside a pump drops below the vapor pressure
corresponding to the temperature of the liquid, resulting in the formation
of bubbles. The vapor bubbles are carried along with flowing liquid, and
collapse with tremendous shock when a region of higher pressure is
reached.
ME 147 – FLUID MACHINERY
EFFECTS OF CAVITATION:
(1) Pitting due to chemical reaction between gases and metal
• (2) Noise accomplishing the collapse of the vapor bubbles
• (3) Vibration of the unit
• (4) Decreased in capacity
ME 147 – FLUID MACHINERY
CAVITATION MAY BE CAUSED BY ANY OF THE FOLLOWING
CONDITIONS:
• (1) Discharge heads are far below the pump's calibrated head at peak
efficiency.
• (2) Suction lift higher or suction head lower than the manufacturer's
recommendation.
• (3) Speed higher than the manufacturer's recommendation.
• (4) Liquid temperatures (thus, vapor pressure) higher than that for which
the system was designed.
lf NPSHA is greater than NPSHR, cavitation will not occur. A good
safety margin is 2 feet to 3 feet of fluid. If NPSHA is insufficient, it
should be increased or the NPSHR should be decreased.
ME 147 – FLUID MACHINERY
NPSHA CAN BE DECREASED BY:
• (1) Increasing the height of the free fluid level of the supply tank.
• (2) Reducing the temperature of the fluid
• (3) Reducing the distance and minor losses between the supply tank and
the pump, or by using a larger pipe size
• (4) Pressurizing the supply tank
• (5) Reducing the flow rate or velocity.
ME 147 – FLUID MACHINERY
NPSHR CAN BE REDUCED BY:
• (1) Placing a throttling valve in the discharge line. This will increase the
total head, thereby reducing the capacity if the pump and driving its
operating point into a region of lower NPSHR
• (2) Using a double suction pump.
In order to avoid cavitation, the net positive suction head (NPSH) of on
installation should be at least equal to or greater than the NPSH of the
pump.
( 𝑵𝑷𝑺𝑯 ) 𝑨 =𝑯 𝒃 − 𝑯 𝒗𝒑 ± 𝒁 − 𝑯 𝒇
ME 147 – FLUID MACHINERY
= - ±-
where:
= Net positive suction head available in meters
= Height in meters (ft) corresponding to absolute pressure on
the surface of the fluid from which the pump draws
= Height in meters (ft) of the fluid surface above (+ sign) or
below (sign) from the pump centerline
= Head in meters (ft) corresponding to the vapor pressure of
the liquid at the existing temperature
= Head in meters (ft) due to the friction from source of supply
to pump suction flange (Neglecting other minor losses)
ME 147 – FLUID MACHINERY
Thus,
𝑷𝒃
𝐏 𝐯𝐩 𝐚𝐭 𝐭 𝐰 Water Tank
Z = Distance from the Z
pump house floor and 𝒉
𝒇
center line of the pump Pump
PCL
Discharge Line
s
Pump house floor
ME 147 – FLUID MACHINERY
PROBLEM No. 1
Water is pumped from a sump as shown below. P b = 101.325 kPa absolute (installation of sea level); water
temperature, t = 40°C, Psat=7.3845 Kpa, density=992.26 kg/m3; loss of head due to friction is 0.75 m; and
suction lift is 3 m. Find the available net positive suction head, (NPSH) A.
ME 147 – FLUID MACHINERY
PROBLEM No. 2
A condensate pump at sea level takes water from a surface condenser where the vacuum is 20 in. Hg. The
friction and turbulence in the piping between condenser hotwell and pump station flange is assumed to be 1.4 m.
If the condensate pump to be installed has a required suction head of 3 m, what would be the minimum height
of water level in the hotwell that must be maintained above the centerline of the pump to avoid cavitation?
ME 147 – FLUID MACHINERY
PROBLEM No. 3
A pump receives water from a tank. If the pump needs 24.5 m of NPSH, how high must be the water
level above the pump centerline. The water is saturated liquid at 1.75 MPa. The friction loss in the pipe
average 0.30 m per 6.0 m of the height of water level and the flow is 1,325 liters/min in a 152.4 mm inside
diameter pipe.
ME 147 – FLUID MACHINERY
PROBLEM No. 4
A horizontal shaft pump is handling water at 66°C. The suction gage is 0.30 m below the pump centerline.
The pressure at this point being 220.60 kPa gage and the velocity is 2.74 m/sec. What is the pump NPSH?
ME 147 – FLUID MACHINERY
PROBLEM No. 5
Determine the available suction head of a pump that is taking a gasoline at 204°C from a closed
tank with a pressure of 535 kPa gage. The specific gravity of gasoline is 0.78 and its vapor pressure
is 620 kPa absolute. The loss in suction pipe is 0.60 m and the pump center line is located 3.60m
above the gasoline level.
