# Numerical simulation and experimental verification of venturi tube hydraulic cavitation

## TL;DR

This paper uses simulations and experiments to study how Venturi tube design affects cavitation, a phenomenon important in industrial processes like wastewater treatment.

## Contribution

The study systematically analyzes the effects of inlet pressure, outlet cone angle, and throat parameters on cavitation performance using numerical and experimental methods.

## Key findings

- A critical inlet pressure threshold (~1.5 MPa) significantly reduces cavitation growth rate.
- Larger throat diameters enhance cavitation generation, while longer throat lengths suppress it.
- Experimental validation confirmed simulation trends in temperature and conductivity measurements.

## Abstract

This study conducted a numerical simulation of hydraulic cavitation characteristics in a Venturi tube using FLUENT software. The Realizable k-ε turbulence model, Mixture multiphase flow model, and Singhal cavitation model were employed to investigate the effects of inlet pressure, outlet cone angle, and throat parameters (diameter and length) on cavitation performance. A critical inlet pressure threshold (~1.5 MPa) exists, beyond which the cavitation growth rate significantly decreases. Increasing the outlet cone angle weakens cavitation intensity due to reduced pressure recovery efficiency. Larger throat diameters enhance cavitation generation, whereas extended throat lengths suppress it by prolonging pressure recovery. Experimental validation demonstrated consistent trends between temperature variations, conductivity measurements, and simulation results, confirming the validity of the numerical methodology. These findings provide theoretical guidance for optimizing Venturi tube structures in industrial applications such as wastewater treatment and chemical reactors. The systematic analysis of parameter interactions offers practical insights for cavitation control and device performance enhancement.