Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 26-17.
Combining flow—branch angle 45
—loss coefficient
K
13
(
Source:
Reference 7; cour-
tesy of the BHR Group Limited)
Cavitation
This section gives a general discussion of cavitation. For a more comprehensive treat-
ment of the topic, see References 12 and 13.
Cavitation occurs when the dynamic conditions in a piping system may cause the
static pressure to fall to the vapor pressure. Under these conditions, vapor bubbles, or
''cavities,'' form. As these ''cavities'' pass into a downstream zone with a higher static
pressure, the cavities collapse. The collapsing bubbles or cavities are termed cavitation,
and are responsible for the characteristic noises associated with cavitation. Cavitation
may:
7
Restrict flow
•
Cause erosion and failure
•
Generate unacceptable noise
•
Cause instabilities within the system
•
There are four broad categories of corrosion:
