Engineers at the University of Waterloo in Canada and Tsinghua University in China have built a theoretical model using data about cavitation — which is the creation and collapse of gas filled bubbles arising from rapid pressure changes in liquids — to assist in the building of improved hydraulic systems for water turbines, pipelines and other applications.

To prevent damage to and improve the safety of future hydraulic systems, the model was constructed using what engineers know about cavitation to predict both the size and formation of cavitation bubbles according to factors such as acceleration and fluid flow velocity.

According to the engineers, when the cavitation bubbles implode, or collapse, they temporarily result in high temperatures, high-speed micro-jets and shockwaves strong enough to damage pipes, for instance.

As such, the team believes that the model will lead to improved hydraulic systems that can withstand the collapse of cavitation bubbles. Additionally, the researchers believe that the model will inform guidelines for limiting the wear and tear on hydraulic systems, thereby avoiding failures while improving reliability.

The research — On the criteria of large cavitation bubbles in a tube during a transient process — appears in the Journal of Fluid Mechanics.

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