Air Release and Cavitation Modeling with a Lumped Parameter Approach Based on the Rayleigh–Plesset Equation: The Case of an External Gear Pump

Yash Girish Shah, Andrea Vacca and Sadegh Dabiri
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Yash Girish Shah: Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
Andrea Vacca: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA
Sadegh Dabiri: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA

Energies, 2018, vol. 11, issue 12, 1-28

Abstract: In this paper, a novel approach for the simulation of cavitation and aeration in hydraulic systems using the lumped parameter method is presented. The presented approach called the Hybrid Rayleigh–Plesset Equation model is derived from the Rayleigh–Plesset Equation representative of bubble dynamics and overcomes several shortcomings present in existing lumped parameter based cavitation modeling approaches. Models based on static approximations do not consider the non-equilibrium effects of phase change on the system and incorrectly predict the system dynamics. On the other hand, the existing dynamic cavitation modeling strategies account for the non-equilibrium effects of phase change but express the evolution of phases through approximations of the Rayleigh–Plesset Equation (such as exclusion of nonlinear interactions in bubble dynamics), which often lead to physically unrealistic time-scales of bubble growth or dissolution. This paper presents a dynamic model for cavitation which is capable of predicting cavitation in hydraulic systems while preserving the nonlinear dynamics arising from the Rayleigh–Plesset Equation. The derived model determines the evolution of phases in terms of physically realizable parameters such as the bubble radius and the nuclei density, which can be estimated or determined experimentally. The paper demonstrates the effectiveness of the derived modeling approach with the help of numerical simulations of an External Gear Machine. Results from the simulations employing the proposed model are compared with an existing dynamic cavitation modeling approach and validated with experimental results over a range of dynamic parameters.

Keywords: cavitation; aeration; external gear machine; lumped parameter modeling approach; fluid power (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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