Pressure Generated by Cavitation in a Pipe

When the velocity of a liquid in a pipe is rapidly decreased at a point, such as behind a rapidly-closing valve or a pump following power failure, the pressure at this point may drop to the vapor pressure of the liquid, thus causing the formation of a vapor cavity. In many cases, this cavity will collapse, generating waves of high pressure propagating through the pipe. This paper presents a result for the prediction of the maximum pressure generated in cases in which the influence resistance is small. This analytical result has been substantiated experimentally.