Cavitation Characteristics of Right-Angled Branch Ducts With Rounded Corners

Abstract

To make clear the effects of curvature on cavitation characteristics of right-angled branch ducts, the cavitation aspects and the associated change in the branch loss coefficient were carefully and systematically investigated in several kinds of right-angled branch ducts with square cross-sections, for several radii of curvature on the corners, cavitation numbers and flow ratios. Clearly the cavitation aspects and the incipient cavitation numbers and significantly affected by the curvature, while the branch loss is scarecely affected by cavitation for any curvature in the near-subcavitating range defined from the inception range to the transient one.