The use of noise and vibration signals for detecting cavitation in kinetic pumps

Abstract

Cavitation in a kinetic pump reduces delivery head and efficiency of the pump. It also causes mechanical damage and an increase of vibrations and noise. Therefore, it is important to detect inception and development of a cavitation phenomenon in the pump. This article deals with signals of vibration and noise, which will be used for detection and monitoring of the cavitation in kinetic pumps, and also to prevent the effect of the cavitation in the pump and pumping system. When the cavitation is increasing, the flowing conditions are changing, which leads to an increase of vibrations of the pump and emitted noise in the surroundings. Because vibrations and noise are transferred from the pump through its casing, the signal is non-uniformly distorted due to transfer losses and structure of the casing surfaces. Noise and vibrations are increasing steadily, but in some specific frequency ranges the signal is more pronounced than in other parts of the spectrum. Experimental results have shown that vibration and noise in the audible spectrum can be successfully used for cavitation detection and its prevention.

Estimating uncertainty of measurements for cavitation detection in a centrifugal pump

“…Recently, another similar study has been published by Č ernetič [4] and present work is a kind of its supplement.…”

“…Measurements were performed on a special test stand, according to the ISO 3555 (quality level B), which was also used in the author's previous paper [4].…”

A Methodology Based on Cyclostationary Analysis for Fault Detection of Hydraulic Axial Piston Pumps

“…Acceleration signals have also been exploited for the detection of cavitation in centrifugal and gerotor pumps [8,9]; for this purpose, noise measurements have also often been considered [10,11].…”

Experimental Investigation on Cavitating Flow Induced Vibration Characteristics of a Low Specific Speed Centrifugal Pump

“…Furthermore, with static pressure decreasing continuously, cavitation region inside blade channels expands towards the blade trailing edge, and cavitation bubbles travel with the main flow collapsing at high static pressure region [4]. During the collapsing process, unsteady impact forces acting on the blade surfaces and shock waves would be generated resulting in vibration energy of the pump increasing rapidly [5,6]. Besides, due to the continuously impingement effect of the burst cavitation bubbles, cavitation erosion would develop on the blade surfaces.…”