• Journal of Aerospace System Engineering
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.100-106
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• 2020

Turbopumps for liquid rocket engines are exposed to various cavitation instabilities under their operating conditions. The instabilities affect the stability of the turbopumps. To make sure of the stability of the turbopump of KSLV-II, the present work examined the characteristics of the cavitation instabilities during the turbopump assembly test. In the test, the LOx pump was operated under super-synchronous rotating cavitation and attached to uneven cavitation. In the vibration analysis of the fuel pump, the characteristic frequency by the super-synchronous cavitation of the LOx pump was clearly shown.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.93-100
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• 2020

The turbopump of the liquid rocket engine adapts an inducer to minimize the cavitation due to the variations of the propellants supply condition. However, the inducer introduces cavitation instabilities which are well-known problems in the engine development. In this paper, operational characteristics by the cavitation instabilities are analyzed and the reliability of the engine is checked when the first stage engine of the KSLV-II is tested at the low inlet pressure conditions. The characteristic frequencies representing the cavitation instabilities of the LOx pump are clearly found in various high frequency sensor signals around the entire engine in addition to the LOx and fuel pump.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.84-93
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• 1994

The purpose of present study is to investigate the surface roughness on tip-vortex cavitation and its induced noise, emanating from an elliptic wing of NACA 0012 section. Roughness elements of $200{\mu}m$ are applied to the 10% portion of wing tip, and then, the wing tip as well as the leading edge. It is shown from cavitation observation that the cavitation inception is first visible at about half chord downstream of wing tip for most experimental conditions, and developed into the tip-vortex cavitation and finally the fully developed cavitation as cavitation number is decreased. Acoustic noise generated by a tip-vortex cavitation has its frequency range of 3 kHz to 50 kHz, while the fully-developed cavitation at lower cavitation number induces a broad band spectrum. It is also shown that, when the roughness elements are applied to the wing tip and the leading edge, the cavitation characteristics and its induced noise are improved. Moreover, it is appeared that the condition at which the rough surface is at pressure side gives a better result. although its lift-drag ratio is reduced.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers Conference
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• 2017.05a
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• pp.1093-1098
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• 2017

High frequency signals are analyzed which are measured at the inlet / outlet pipeline and pump casing during cavitation tests of the LOx pump for the liquid rocket engine. RMS values of data are shown according to the cavitation number. RMS values of the synchronous frequency, its harmonic frequencies and frequencies of cavitation instabilities are also calculated. The pressure pulsations of the inlet and outlet pipeline are affected by cavitation instabilities. 3x component is predominant in the outlet pulsation sensor since 3x component generated at the inducer is amplified at the impeller. The cavitation instability is also found at the accelerometer signal of the casing.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.400-405
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• 2024

When cavitation noise occurs in ship propellers, the level of underwater radiated noise abruptly increases, which can be a critical threat factor as it increases the probability of detection, particularly in the case of naval vessels. Therefore, accurately and promptly assessing cavitation signals is crucial for improving the survivability of submarines. Traditionally, techniques for determining cavitation occurrence have mainly relied on assessing acoustic/vibration levels measured by sensors above a certain threshold, or using the Detection of Envelop Modulation On Noise (DEMON) method. However, technologies related to this rely on a physical understanding of cavitation phenomena and subjective criteria based on user experience, involving multiple procedures, thus necessitating the development of techniques for early automatic recognition of cavitation signals. In this paper, we propose an algorithm that automatically detects cavitation occurrence based on simple statistical features reflecting cavitation characteristics extracted from acoustic signals measured by sensors attached to the hull. The performance of the proposed technique is evaluated depending on the number of sensors and model test conditions. It was confirmed that by sufficiently training the characteristics of cavitation reflected in signals measured by a single sensor, the occurrence of cavitation signals can be determined.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Surface Engineering Conference
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• 2014.11a
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• pp.300-300
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• 2014

해양환경 하에서 대형 강구조물의 경우 장기간 부식손상을 방지하기 위해 아크 용사코팅 기술이 오래전부터 유용하게 이용되어 왔다. 아크 용사코팅 기술은 타 용사코팅 기술에 비해 경제성과 생산성이 뛰어나 대형 강구조물에 적용되고 있다. 용사재료로는 Al, Zn 또는 그 합금들이 주로 사용되어 강재에 대해 희생양극 방식효과를 나타낸다. 그러나 아크용사에 의해 적층된 코팅 층은 용사공정 중 불가피하게 수많은 기공과 산화물이 포함되어 내식성 및 내구성에 악영향을 미치게 된다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 알루미늄 합금의 용사코팅 층에 대하여 다양한 후처리를 통해 내식성과 더불어 내구성을 향상시키고자 하였다. 용사코팅은 알루미늄 합금 선재(1.6 ${\varnothing}$)를 사용하여 아크용사를 실시하였다. 용사 시 용사거리는 200 mm, 공기압력은 약 $7kg/cm^2$ 정도로 유지하면서 용사코팅을 실시하여 약 $200{\mu}m$ 두께로 코팅 층을 형성시켰다. 이후 용사코팅 층의 표면에 다양한 후처리재를 적용하였으며, 내구성을 평가하기 위하여 후처리 적용 전후 시험편에 대하여 캐비테이션 실험을 실시하였다. 캐비테이션 실험은 ASTM G32-92에 의거하여 주파수 20 kHz의 초음파 진동 장치(ultrasonic vibratory device)를 사용하였다. 그리고 시험편 표면과 발진 혼에 부착된 팁(tip)과의 거리는 1 mm로 일정하게 유지시킨 뒤, 캐비테이션 발생 시간을 변수로 하여 실험을 실시하였다. 손상된 용사코팅 층의 표면은 주사전자현미경과 광학현미경으로 관찰하였으며, 시험편 손상깊이는 3D 현미경으로 비교 분석하였다. 또한 캐비테이션 실험 전후의 무게를 측정하여 무게 감소량을 상호 비교하였다. 그리고 전기화학적 실험은 천연해수 속에서 자체 제작한 홀더(holder)를 이용하여 $0.33183cm^2$의 용사코팅 층만을 노출시켜 실시하였다. 그리고 기준전극은 은/염화은 전극을, 대극은 백금전극을 사용하였다. 분극실험을 통해 후처리 적용에 따른 용사코팅 층의 부식전위 및 부식전류밀도를 비교 평가하였다. 그 결과, 용사코팅 층에 의하여 강재에 대한 희생양극 방식전위가 확보되었으며, 후처리재가 적용된 용사코팅 층에서 내식성 및 캐비테이션 저항성이 향상되었다.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.61-67
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• 2018

High-frequency signals are analyzed at the inlet/outlet pipeline and pump casing during cavitation tests of the LOx pump for liquid rocket engines. Root-mean square values of all data are investigated with respect to cavitation number. The values of synchronous, harmonic, and cavitation instability frequencies are also calculated. Pressure pulsations of the inlet and outlet pipelines are affected by cavitation instabilities. The 3x component (i.e., the blade-passing frequency of the inducer) is predominant in the outlet pulsation sensor. This seems to be related to the fact that the number of impeller blades is a multiple of the number of the inducer blades. The cavitation instability is also measured at the accelerometer of the pump casing.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.42 no.3
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• pp.243-249
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• 2023

The occurrence of cavitation on the propeller is directly linked to the naval ship's survivability, and it is necessary to design a propeller shape that delays the cavitation inception. However, the propeller cavitation can occur under various operating conditions, thus it is important to identify whether the propeller cavitation exists during operation as well as in the design phase. To this end, it is necessary to use noise or vibration signals on board to monitor the cavitation inception. In this study, a hydrophone and an accelerometer were installed on the ship hull right above the propeller to compare the performance of analyzing cavitation inception between acoustic and vibration signals. Also, a high speed camera was used to visually observe the occurrence of cavitation through an observation window. The measured results showed that the spectral shapes between acoustic and vibration signals were different, but the level increases at each frequency band and the overall level of the frequency band from 1 kHz to 10 kHz showed a similar tendency. The Detection of Envelope Modulation On Noise (DEMON) analysis also showed similar results for both acoustic and vibration signals, confirming that both hydrophones and accelerometers can be utilized in the analysis of cavitation inception.

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
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• v.8 no.1 s.28
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• pp.23-29
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• 2005

Steady and unsteady cavitation characteristics of turbopump inducer were investigated in this paper. To investigate the effect of blade angle on the inducer performance, three inducers with inlet tip blade angle of $7.8^{\circ},\;7.0^{\circ},\;6.1^{\circ}$, respectively, were tested. For $7.8^{\circ},\;7.0^{\circ}$ inducers in the non-cavitating condition, head decreased linearly with flow rate, but head-flow rate curve had a dip at the flow coefficient ${\psi}=0.065$ for $6.1^{\circ}$ inducer. Attached cavitation and cavitation surge were found in the $7.8^{\circ},\;7.0^{\circ}$ inducers in the cavitation tests. During the attached cavitation one cell rotated at the same rotational speed as that of the inducer. The cavitation surge did not rotate and the oscillating frequency was $7{\sim}20\;Hz$. From the curve of the critical cavitation number versus flow rate, it was found that the steady cavitation performance of $6.1^{\circ}$ inducer was much lower than that of $7.8^{\circ},\;7.0^{\circ}$ inducers.

• Journal of the Society of Naval Architects of Korea
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.41-49
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• 1999

A feasibility study is performed for practical application of a Ventilating Water-Jet(VWJ) propulsor which attracts new attention as a candidate propulsor for super-high speed vessels. Super-cavitating foil sections are adopted for the rotor blades since the rotor is operating at ventilating condition. Wedge type and cavitator type foil sections are used for the design of rotor blades. Other geometric characteristics of rotors are selected from the Kaplan type ducted propeller rotors. The test section of KRISO cavitation tunnel is modified to perform open-water tests of the VWJ propulsors. The tests are performed both at fully-submerged and free-jet conditions. Ventilation occurred at the free-jet condition by sucking the air in the downstream side of the rotor, which easily develops as super-cavitation when the rotor operates at lower advance coefficients. Spoilers are attached at the trailing end of the pressure side of the blade section, in order to increase the lift force.