Vapor bubbles

Successive reflections of the pressure wave between the pipe inlet and the closed valve result in alternating pressure increases and decreases, which are gradually attenuated by fluid friction and imperfect elasticity of the pipe. Periods of reduced pressure occur while the reflected pressure wave is travehng from inlet to valve. Degassing of the liquid may occur, as may vaporization if the pressure drops below the vapor pressure of the liquid. Gas and vapor bubbles decrease the wave velocity. Vaporization may lead to what is often called liquid column separation subsequent collapse of the vapor pocket can result in pipe rupture. 

Cavitation Loosely regarded as related to water hammer and hydrauhc transients because it may cause similar vibration and equipment damage, cavitation is the phenomenon of collapse of vapor bubbles in flowing liquid. These bubbles may be formed anywhere the local liquid pressure drops below the vapor pressure, or they may be injected into the hquid, as when steam is sparged into water. Local low-pressure zones may be produced by local velocity increases (in accordance with the Bernouhi equation see the preceding Conservation Equations subsection) as in eddies or vortices, or near bound-aiy contours by rapid vibration of a boundaiy by separation of liquid during water hammer or by an overaU reduction in static pressure, as due to pressure drop in the suction line of a pump. 

Collapse of vapor bubbles once they reach zones where the pressure exceeds the vapor pressure can cause objectionable noise and vibration and extensive erosion or pitting of the boundaiy materials. The critical cavitation number at inception of cavitation, denoted <7, is useful in correlating equipment performance data ... 

Cavitation and Flashing From the discussion on pressure recoveiy it was seen that the pressure at the vena contracta can be much lower than the downstream pressure. If the pressure on a hquid falls below its vapor pressure (p,J, the liquid will vaporize. Due to the effect of surface tension, this vapor phase will first appear as bubbles. These bubbles are carried downstream with the flow, where they collapse if the pressure recovers to a value above p,. This pressure-driven process of vapor-bubble formation and collapse is known as cavitation. 

Suction Limitations of a Pump Whenever the pressure in a liquid drops below the vapor pressure corresponding to its temperature, the liquid will vaporize. When this happens within an operating pump, the vapor bubbles will be carried along to a point of higher pressure, where they suddenly collapse. This phenomenon is known as cavitation. Cavitation in a pump should be avoided, as it is accompanied by metal removal, vibration, reduced flow, loss in efficiency, and noise. When the absolute suction pressure is low, cavitation may occur in the pump inlet and damage result in the pump suction and on the impeller vanes near the inlet edges. To avoid this phenomenon, it is necessary to maintain a required net positive suction head (NPSH)r, which is the equivalent total head of liquid at the pump centerline less the vapor pressure p. Each pump manufacturer publishes curves relating (NPSH)r to capacity and speed for each pump. 

For effluent streams consisting of only liquid and vapor, hole diameters ranging from Vh to V2. in are recommended. Larger hole diameters (up to 2 in) may be required if the blowdown stream contains solids (polymers and/or catalyst). However, the violently collapsing vapor bubbles create a water hammer effect which increases in severity with hole size. 

Cavitation may be defined as the instantaneous formation and collapse of vapor bubbles in a liquid subject to rapid, intense localized pressure changes. Cavitation damage refers to the deterioration of a material resulting from its exposure to a cavitating fluid. 

Figure 12.1 is a simplified representation of the cavitation process. Figure 12. L4 represents a vessel containing a liquid. The vessel is closed by an air-tight plunger. When the plunger is withdrawn (B), a partial vacuum is created above the liquid, causing vapor bubbles to form and grow within the liquid. In essence, the liquid boils without a temperature increase. If the plunger is then driven toward the surface of the liquid (C), the pressure in the liquid increases and the bubbles...

Cavitation is the formation and subsequent eollapsc or implosion of vapor bubbles in the pump. It oeeurs because the absolute pressure on the liquid falls below the liquid s vapor pre.ssure. 

When vapor bubbles eollapse inside the pump the liquid strikes the metal parts at the speed of sound. This is the elicking and popping noise we hear from outside the pump when we say that eavitation sounds like pumping marbles and roeks. Sound travels at 4,800 ft per second in water. The velocity head formula gives a elose approximation of the energy contained in an imploding cavitation bubble. Remember that implosion is an explosion in the opposite direction. 

A pump is designed to handle liquid, not vapor. Unfortunately, for many situations, it is easy to get vapor into the pump if the design is not earefully done. Vapor forms if the pressure in the pump falls below the liquid s vapor pressure. The lowest pressure occurs right at the impeller inlet where a sharp pressure dip oeeurs. The impeller rapidly builds up the pressure, which collapses vapor bubbles, eausing cavitation and damage. This must be avoided by maintaining sufficient net positive suetion head (NPSFl) as specified by the manufacturer. 

The most frequently encountered flashing problems are in control valves. Downstream from the control valve a point of lowest pressure is reached, followed by pressure recovery. A liquid will flash if the low pressure point is below its vapor pressure. Subsequent pressure recovery can collapse the vapor bubbles or cavities, causing noise, vibration, and physical damage. 

In this section, the phenomenon of BLEVE is discussed according to theories proposed by Reid (1976), Board (1975), and Venart (1990). Reid (1979, 1980) based a theory about the BLEVE mechanism on the phenomenon of superheated liquids. When heat is transferred to a liquid, the temperature of the liquid rises. When the boiling point is reached, the liquid starts to form vapor bubbles at active sites. These active sites occur at interfaces with solids, including vessel walls. 

Boiling in the bulk of the fluid generally takes place at submicron nucleation sites as impurities, crystals, or ions. When there is a shortage of nucleation sites in the bulk of the liquid, its boiling point can be exceeded without boiling then the liquid is superheated. There is, however, a limit at a given pressure above which a liquid cannot be superheated, and when this limit is reached, microscopic vapor bubbles develop spontaneously in the pure liquid (without nucleation sites). 

The theoretical maximum suction lift at sea level for water (14.7 psi) (2.31 fi/psi) = 34 ft. However, due to flow resistance, this value is never attainable. For safety, 15 feet is considered the practical limit, although some pumps will lift somewhat higher columns of water. WTen sealing a vacuum condition above a pump, or the pump pumps from a vessel, a seal allowance to atmosphere is almost always taken as 34 feet of water. High suction lift causes a reduction in pump capacity, noisy operation due to release of air and vapor bubbles, vibration and erosion, or pitting (cavitation) of the impeller and some parts of the casing. (The extent of the damage depends on the materials of construction.)... 

Under cavitating conditions a pump will perform below its head-performance curve at any particular flow rate. Although the pump may operate under cavitation conditions, it will often be noisy because of collapsing vapor bubbles and severe pitting, and erosion of the impeller often results. This damage can become so severe as to completely destroy the impeller and create excessive clearances in the casing. To avoid these problems, the fol-iotving are a few situations to watch ... 

In tube bundles, if the disengaging space between the bundle and the kettle is small and insufficient to allow the vapor bubbles to break-free of the liquid and thus tend to blanket the upper tubes with gas, heat transfer will be restricted. For best design the superficial vapor velocity should be in the range of 0.6-1.0 ft/sec to prevent the bubbles from blanketing the tube through the bundle and thereby preventing liquid contact with the tubes. When the maximum heat flux is approached, this condition can occur, so the 1.0 ft/sec vapor velocity is recommended. 

At higher flow rates cavitation is a serious degradation mechanism, where vapor bubbles created by pressure fluctuations brought about by the flow of liquid past the surface collapse on the metal surface with tremendous force. This damages any protective oxide which may be present, leading to pitting corrosion. It also causes mechanical damage to the metal. 

When a liquid is heated in an open container, bubbles form, usually at the bottom, where heat is applied. The first small bubbles are air, driven out of solution by the increase in temperature. Eventually, at a certain temperature, large vapor bubbles form throughout the liquid. These vapor bubbles rise to the surface, where they break. When this happens, the liquid is said to be boiling. For a pure liquid, the temperature remains constant throughout the boiling process. 

The temperature at which a liquid boils depends on the pressure above it. To understand why this is the case, consider Figure 9.3 (p. 231). This shows vapor bubbles rising in a boiling liquid. For a vapor bubble to form, the pressure within it, Plt must be at least equal to the pressure above it, P2. Because P1 is simply the vapor pressure of the liquid, it follows that a liquid boils at a temperature at which its vapor pressure is equal to the pressure above its surface. If this pressure is 1 atm (760 mm Hg), the temperature is referred to as the normal... 

Boiling point Temperature at which the vapor pressure of a liquid equals the applied pressure, leading to the formation of vapor bubbles, 13 alcohol, 591 alkane, 591 ether, 591... 

Cavitation occurs in a rapidly moving fluid when there is a decrease in pressure in the fluid below its vapor pressure and the presence of such nucleating sources as minute foreign particles or definite gas bubbles. As a result, vapor bubble forms that continues to grow until it reaches a region of pressure... 

Formation of vapor bubbles in rapidly flowing or turbulent water causing risk of pumping failure and erosion and/or corrosion. Due to an increase in velocity at the pump head resulting in a localized pressure reduction and the subsequent collapse of the vapor into voids or cavities. Where FW temperatures are high (over perhaps 195-205 °F) the pump velocity can reduce FW vapor pressure below that corresponding to the temperature of the liquid and cavitation can occur accompanied by some noise. Warning of severe pump cavitation is often indicated by a heavy noise. 

Forster, H.K. J. Appl. Phys. 25 (1954) 1067. On the conduction of heat into a growing vapor bubble. 

Slug flow. Vapor bubbles longer than the channel diameter, which is slightly smaller than that of the tube. The bubbles were separated from the inner channel... 

Steam-liquid flow. Two-phase flow maps and heat transfer prediction methods which exist for vaporization in macro-channels and are inapplicable in micro-channels. Due to the predominance of surface tension over the gravity forces, the orientation of micro-channel has a negligible influence on the flow pattern. The models of convection boiling should correlate the frequencies, length and velocities of the bubbles and the coalescence processes, which control the flow pattern transitions, with the heat flux and the mass flux. The vapor bubble size distribution must be taken into account. 

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