Effect of the Gap Thickness Between Two Parallel Plates on Radial Cavitating Flow

Cavitation in thin-gap internal radial flows occurs in many industrial components, such as bearings, aviation fuel pumps, and hydraulic systems. Herein, we focus on the characterization and modeling of cavitation physics in radial flow in a thin layer between two parallel plates with a varying gap. In particular, a detailed experimental characterization is conducted on the cavity cloud radial collapse distance for distilled water for different gaps and different inlet-outlet pressure ratios of the radial flow system. In addition, an empirical model is proposed to predict cavity collapse distance as a function of gap thickness, and a barotropic model is proposed for radial mean pressure profile prediction, which we validate with experimental measurements. Our model can be integrated to predict and understand the effect of cavitation erosion damage in complex internal radial flow geometries, for prolonging their life and improving their performance.