A Practical Depiction of What Causes Pump Cavitation and How to Prevent This

• Posted By: Francis Akinola
• Posted on: 2021-06-24

The boiling points of liquids are usually relative to their atmospheric pressure, this enables us to predict their vapour pressure. If the pressure inside a liquid pump (say, water) falls below the predicted liquid's vapor pressure, bubbles form. These rapidly formed bubbles can collapse rapidly and violently, leading to a phenomenon in pumps known as cavitation.

Cavitation causes surface fatigue of impellers driving the flow of liquid in the pump thereby causing damage to the pump. Usually, you recognise there is something wrong with your pump by strange noise coming from them or by a marked reduction in the flow rate.

To prevent cavitation in pumps we would want to keep an eye on the temperature of the liquid being pumped and reduce the revolution per minute (rpm) speed of the pump accordingly. Booster pumps can also be installed within the pump system to reduce stress on the primary pump. Also, impeller inducers can also be installed.