Validation and Verification of Cavitation in Microchannels by using an Open Source Computational Tool

Abstract

Cavitation is mostly unwanted in applications due to its unpredictable and distorting effect on fluid flow. On the other hand, its modelling is expensive in terms of time and computational power in general. Regarding this a tendency for using an open source software such as OpenFOAM is emerging as a promising tool for both predicting and analyzing cavity formation. With this tool, an effective reduction in license expenses is obtained. In this study, validation and verification of an OpenFOAM solver is investigated for cavitation in microchannels. Experiments are carried out as well for comparison with computational results. During the experiments, fluorescent particles were introduced in the flow and cavity formation was observed under a fluorescent camera. Therefore, motion of the cavity was also efficiently captured. Overall, computational and experimental results are compared and contrasted to investigate the capability of OpenFoam for the chosen conditions.

Keywords

• cavitation
• microchannels
• microfluidics
• open source
• computational fluid dynamics

Supporting Institution

Savunma Sanayi Bakanlığı Savunma Sanayi için Araştırmacı Yetiştirme Programı (SAYP)

Project Number

SAYP

Thanks

We acknowledge the support from the Turkish Ministry of Defense for supporting the collaboration between Bilkent University and Roketsan Industry.

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