On the Dynamics of Natural and Ventilated Cavitation Flows: An Experimental Investigation

Cavitation, a ubiquitous phenomenon responsible for the sound of knuckles cracking, the erosion-wear of ship propeller blades and targeted drug delivery permeates natural, industrial and biomedical realms. It presents both challenges and opportunities for various applications, hence, a fundamental understanding of cavitation flows is imperative. Cavitation can be broadly classified as natural or ventilated: Natural cavitation occurs when the pressure in the flow drops below the vapour pressure, leading to the formation of vapour bubbles/cavities. Alternately, ventilated cavities are formed by injecting non-condensable gas into the flow. Although fundamentally different, these flows share various underlying physical phenomena. In this dissertation, a commonly occurring, yet complex formof natural cavitation − partial cavitation is examined in combination with ventilated cavities to further our current understanding of cavitation flows....