Cavitation model of choked flow of underheated water

• Published in: Atomic energy (New York, N.Y.) Vol. 112; no. 1; pp. 1 - 13
• Main Authors: Novoselsky, O. Yu, Kolganova, L. I.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01-05-2012; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acceleration; Analysis; Cavitation; Centrifugal force; Computational fluid dynamics; Density; Flow rates; Fluid dynamics; Fluid flow; Gases; Hadrons; Heavy Ions; Hydraulics; Mathematical models; Nuclear Chemistry; Nuclear Energy; Nuclear Physics; Nuclear reactors; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Studies; Valves; Velocity; Critical Flow; Vapor Bubble; Saturation Pressure; Centrifugal Force; Cavitation
• ISSN: 1063-4258; 1573-8205
• DOI: 10.1007/s10512-012-9517-6

A necessary condition for cavitation to appear in fluid flow is a local drop of the pressure below the saturation pressure at the flow temperature. Such a pressure drop can be due to centrifugal acceleration or more accurately the centrifugal force engendered by this acceleration and directed along the radius of curvature of a convex surface bounding the flow, across the flow direction. A mathematical model of cavitation is constructed on this basis in the form of a dependence of the critical flow rate on the pressure, density, and underheating of water at the entrance into a hydraulic apparatus and concretized for nozzles and Venturi tubes with a smooth entry as well as for a stop valve in a RBMK process channel. This model is used to evaluate the state of the flow in the valve in different RBMK-1000 operating regimes.