Interaction of particles with a cavitation bubble near a solid wall

TL;DR

This study investigates how hard particles interact with cavitation bubbles near solid walls, combining experiments, simulations, and analytical models to understand damage mechanisms in hydraulic machinery.

Contribution

It introduces an integrated approach using experimental, numerical, and analytical methods to analyze particle-bubble interactions near solid surfaces.

Findings

Particle size, density, and position significantly influence particle velocity during bubble collapse.

Experimental and numerical results are consistent, validating the models.

Understanding these interactions can help mitigate cavitation and erosion damage.

Abstract

Hard particle erosion and cavitation damage are two main wear problems that can affect the internal components of hydraulic machinery such as hydraulic turbines or pumps. If both problems synergistically act together, the damage can be more severe and result in high maintenance costs. In this work, a study of the interaction of hard particles and cavitation bubbles is developed to understand their interactive behavior. Experimental tests and numerical simulations using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) were performed. Experimentally, a cavitation bubble was generated with an electric spark near a solid surface, and its interaction with hard particles of different sizes and materials was observed using a high-speed camera. A simplified analytical approach was developed to model the behavior of the particles near the bubble interface during its collapse. Computationally, we simulated an air bubble that grew and collapsed near a solid wall while interacting with one particle near the bubble interface. Several simulations with different conditions were made and validated with the experimental data. The experimental data obtained from particles above the bubble were consistent with the numerical results and analytical study. The particle size, density and position of the particle with respect to the bubble interface strongly affected the maximum velocity of the particles.