Thermodynamic suppression effect on cavity length on a hydrofoil with tip clearance in 140 °C hot water

The thermodynamic suppression effect on cavitation can improve the suction performance of hydraulic machinery. In the present study, tip leakage vortex cavitation, which is the primary type of cavitation in pumps, is reproduced using a twisted hydrofoil with tip clearance in high-temperature water, and the thermodynamic suppression effect on cavity length is evaluated. First, a similarity parameter is identified from room-temperature experiments to extract the pure thermodynamic suppression effect. Second, the cavitation number for a critical cavity length is examined in terms of similarity parameters and correlated with the conventional thermodynamic parameter. It is found that none of the existing parameters fully predict the degree of cavity suppression under high-temperature conditions.