Modeling of hydrodynamic cavitation reactors: a unified approach

An attempt has been made to present a unified theoretical model for the cavitating flow in a hydrodynamic cavitation reactor using the nonlinear continuum mixture model for two-phase flow as the basis. This model has been used to describe the radial motion of bubble in the cavitating flow in two geometries in hydrodynamic cavitation reactors, viz., a venturi tube and an orifice plate. Simulations of the bubble dynamics in a venturi flow demonstrate the stable oscillatory radial bubble motion due to a linear pressure gradient. Due to an additional pressure gradient due to turbulent velocity fluctuations the radial bubble motion in case of an orifice flow is a combination of both stable and oscillatory type. The results of numerical simulations have been explained on the basis of analogy between hydrodynamic cavitation and acoustic cavitation. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.