The Possibility and Risk of Generation of Cavitation at the inlet of the Turbopump

선화제펌프 입구에서 캐비테이션 발생 가능성 및 위험성 평가

Upon a turbopump's running, cavitation may occur at the inlet of the LOx pump by pressure drop and heat transfer along the LOx feeding line. Since the cavitation can cause serious damage to the pump or to stop running, the absence of the cavitation at the inlet of a turbopump should be confirmed before the using the turbopump. In the present study, the calculation of the volume fraction of LOx gas phase at the inlet of the pump are performed with different temperatures of LOx in the tank, pressure drops and heat transfers along the feeding line. This calculation method can be applied to define the limits of thermal and hydraulic characteristics during the design of a LOx feeding system.