Observation of Unsteady Behavior of Cavitation in a Liquid Rocket Inducer Using a Multi-Point Pressure Measurement Technique

Abstract

A multi-point pressure measurement method has been developed that visualizes cavity volume fluctuations in a steel casing over a long period of time with a time resolution of 1/ 3 of a rotation of the inducer by arranging three rows of pressure sensors on the casing and scanning the pressure distribution around a rotating inducer. In this study, the multi-point pressure measurement method is used to observe the unsteady behavior of cavitation that occurs in three-blade inducer during depressurization operation. The time variation of pressure distribution around the inducer obtained by the multi-point pressure measurement method are used to estimate the waveform of fluctuation of cavity length and the frequency, thereby determining the occurrence of cavitation instability.