Numerical Simulation and Experimental Analysis of Cavitating Water Jets with Angular Nozzles under Surface Constraints

Li, S.; Ma, G.; Li, G.; Wang, Z.; Xu, Y.; Yan, Y.; Zhang, J.

doi:10.47176/jafm.18.10.3459

Numerical Simulation and Experimental Analysis of Cavitating Water Jets with Angular Nozzles under Surface Constraints

Document Type : Regular Article

Authors

College of Mechanical Science and Engineering, Northeast Petroleum University, Daqing,163318, China

10.47176/jafm.18.10.3459

Abstract

The effectiveness of oil pipeline cleaning is critical for minimising the frequency of reuse, and cavitation water jet technology presents a highly efficient and energy-saving cleaning method. However, the evolution behaviour of cavitation clouds under curved constraints, as well as the influence of nozzle structural parameters on cleaning performance, remains inadequately understood. In this study, high-speed imaging was employed to examine the effects of the target surface, target position, and inlet pressure on cavitation cloud evolution under curved constraints. In addition, large eddy simulation (LES) was utilised to model cavitation water jets in constrained geometries. The findings revealed that the cavitation cloud evolution cycle was shortened under curved constraints. As the target distance and inlet pressure decreased, the cavitation cloud evolution cycle, vapour phase concentration on the wall surface, and cavitation cloud width also decreased. The LES results were consistent with experimental observations. Using an orthogonal experimental design, the optimal combination of structural parameters for the angular nozzle was identified through range analysis. The results indicated that increasing the target distance led to higher vapour phase volume fraction and flow velocity on the target surface. The optimised nozzle significantly enhanced the cavitation effect at the target surface.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Turbulent Flows

References

Bai, W., Tijsseling, A. S., Wang, J., Duan, Q., & Zhang, Z. (2021). Large eddy simulation investigations of periodic cavitation shedding with special emphasis on three-dimensional asymmetry in a scaled-up nozzle orifice. Journal of Fluids Engineering, 143(7). https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4050136

Bukharin, N., El Hassan, M., Omelyanyuk, M., & Nobes, D. (2020). Applications of cavitating jets to radioactive scale cleaning in pipes. Energy Reports,6, 1237-1243. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egyr.2020.11.049

Cui, Y., Zhao, M., Ding, Q., & Cheng, B. (2024). Study on dynamic evolution and erosion characteristics of cavitation clouds in submerged cavitating water jets. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 12(4), 641–641. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse12040641

Dai, X., Wang, Z., Liu, F., Wang, C., Sun, Q., & Xu, C. (2019). Simulation of throttling effect on cavitation for nozzle internal flow. Fuel, 243, 277-287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fuel.2019.01.073

Dong, J., Li, S., Meng, R., Zhong, X., & Pan, X. (2022). Research on cavitation characteristics of two-throat nozzle submerged jet. Applied Sciences, 12(2), 536. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12020536

Fan, C. X., Li, D., Kang, Y., & Zhang, H. T. (2024). Effect of low-speed waterjet pressure on the rock-breaking performance of unsubmerged cavitating abrasive waterjet. Petroleum Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.petsci.2024.03.012

Han, C. Z., Xu, S., Cheng, H. Y., Ji, B., & Zhang, Z. Y. (2020). LES method of the tip clearance vortex cavitation in a propelling pump with special emphasis on the cavitation-vortex interaction.Journal of Hydrodynamics, 32(6), 1212-1216. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42241-020-0070-9

He, J., An, Q., Jin, J., Feng, S., & Zhang, K. (2023) Experimental study and simulation of cavitation shedding in diesel engine nozzle using proper orthogonal decomposition and large eddy simulation. Journal of Thermal Science. 2023, 32(4): 1487-1500. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11630-023-1817-8

Huang, G., Qiu, C., Song, M., Qu, W., Zhuang, Y., Chen, K., Huang, K., Gao, J., Hao, J., & Hao, H. (2024). Optimization of composite cavitation nozzle parameters based on the response surface methodology. Water, 16(6), 850–850. https://doi.org/10.3390/w16060850

Li, L., Xu, Y., Ge, M., Wang, Z., Li, S., & Zhang, J. (2023). Numerical investigation of cavitating jet flow field with different turbulence models. Mathematics,11(18), 3977. https://doi.org/10.3390/math11183977

Liu, H., Xu, Y., Wang, Z., Zhang, J., & Wang, J. (2023). Experimental and numerical simulations to examine the mechanism of nozzle geometry affecting cavitation water jets. Geoenergy Science and Engineering, 233, 212511–212511. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoen.2023.212511

Liu, Y., Chen, X., Zhang, J., Feng, L., Liu, H., & Hao, C. (2024). Structural optimization design of ice abrasive water jet nozzle based on multi-objective algorithm. Flow Measurement and Instrumentation, 97, 102586–102586. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.flowmeasinst.2024.102586

Peng, C., Tian, S., & Li, G. (2021). Determination of the shedding frequency of cavitation cloud in a submerged cavitation jet based on high-speed photography images. Journal of Hydrodynamics, 33(1), 127–139. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42241-021-0016-x

Sekyi-Ansah, J., Wang, Y., Tan, Z., Zhu, J., & Li, F. (2020). The dynamic evolution of cavitation vacuolar cloud with high-speed camera. Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering, 45, 4907-4919. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-019-04329-0

Shan, M., Zha, Y., Yang, Y., Yang, C., Yin, C., & Han, Q. (2024). Morphological characteristics and cleaning effects of collapsing cavitation bubble in fractal cracks. Physics of Fluids, 36(6). https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0215048

Soyama, H. (2020). Cavitating jet: A review. Applied Sciences,10(20), 7280. https://doi.org/10.3390/app10207280

Świetlicki, A., Szala, M., & Walczak, M. (2022). Effects of shot peening and cavitation peening on properties of surface layer of metallic materials—a short review. Materials, 15(7), 2476. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15072476

Trummler, T., Schmidt, S. J., & Adams, N. A. (2020). Investigation of condensation shocks and re-entrant jet dynamics in a cavitating nozzle flow by Large-Eddy Simulation. International Journal of Multiphase Flow,125, 103215. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmultiphaseflow.2020.103215

Wang, J., Wang, Z., Cui, H., Liu, H., Yan, Y., Zhang, J., Li, S., & Xu, Y. (2025). Effects of jet impact angle on cavitation erosion intensity and cavitation cloud dynamics. Ocean Engineering, 315, 119832. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2024.119832

Wang, J., Wang, Z., Xu, Y., Liu, H., Yan, Y., Zhang, J., Li, S., & Ge, M. (2024). Analysis of the flow field characterization on the cavitation water jet applied to planar and curved surfaces. Physics of Fluids, 36(10). https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0233488

Xiang, L., Wei, X., & Chen, X. (2020) Experimental study on the frequency characteristics of self-excited pulsed cavitation jet. European Journal of Mechanics - B/Fluids, 83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euromechflu.2020.04.006

Xu, Y., Liu, H., Wang, Z., Zhang, J., & Wang, J. (2024a). Analysis of the effects of nozzle geometry on the cavitation water jet flow field using orthogonal decomposition. Iranian Journal of Science and Technology, Transactions of Mechanical Engineering, 48(1), 119-132. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40997-023-00647-9

Xu, Y., Tian, J., Wang, Z., Zhang, J., Li, S., Yan, Y., & Ge, M. (2024b). A comprehensive study on the flow field of cylindrical cavitation nozzle jet under different turbulence models. Ocean Engineering, 315, 119596–119596. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2024.119596

Yang, Y., Li, W., Shi, W., Wang, C., & Zhang, W. (2020). Experimental study on submerged high-pressure jet and parameter optimization for cavitation peening. Mechanika, 26(4), 346–353. https://doi.org/10.5755/j01.mech.26.4.27560

Yang, Y., Shi, W., Tan, L., Li, W., Chen, S., & Pan, B. (2021). Numerical Research of the Submerged High‐Pressure Cavitation Water Jet Based on the RANS‐LES Hybrid Model. Shock and Vibration, 2021(1), 6616718. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/6616718

Yuan, X., Wang, N., Wang, W., Zhang, L., & Zhu, Y. (2022). Nozzle resonance mechanism and cooperative optimization of self-excited oscillating pulse cavitation jet. Transactions of the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering,47(1), 74-88. https://doi.org/10.1139/tcsme-2021-0092

Zhong, X., Dong, J., Liu, M., Meng, R., Li, S., & Pan, X. (2022). Experimental study on ship fouling cleaning by ultrasonic-enhanced submerged cavitation jet: A preliminary study. Ocean Engineering, 258, 111844. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2022.111844