Book Description

This theses presents the design, development and operations of a Cavitation Susceptibility Meter based on the use of a venturi tube for the measurement of the content of active cavitation nuclei in water samples. The pressure at the venturi throat is determined from the upstream pressure and the local flow velocity without corrections for viscous effects because the flow possesses a laminar potential core in all operational conditions. The detection ov cavitation and the measurement of the flow velocity are carried out optically. The apparatus comprises a Laser Doppler Velocimeter for the measurement of the flow velocity and the detection of cavitation, a custom-made electronic Signal Processor for real time generation and temporary storage of the data and a computerized system for the final acquisition and reduction of the collected data. The results of application of the Cavitation Susceptibility Meter to the measurement of the water quality of the tap water samples are presented. The results of an investigation are presented on the linearized dynamics of two-phase bubbly flows with the inclusion of bubble dynamics effects. Two flow configurations have been studied: the time dependent one-dimensional flow of a spherical bubble cloud subject to harmonic excitation of the far field external pressure and the steady state two-dimensional flow of a bubbly mixture on a slender profile of arbitrary shape.