On the Mechanism for Rotating Cavitation Onset in a Four-Bladed Rocket Engine Turbopump Inducer
Name
gtp-25-1352.pdf
Description
Published version
Size
2.4 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
b13b9d081171ea7457fc222959bb8e75
Author(s)
Kakudo, Hiromitsu
Wall, James MG
Spakovszky, Zoltán S
Date Issued
September 24, 2025
Journal
Journal of Engineering for Gas Turbines and Power
Publisher
ASME International
Citation
Kakudo, H., Wall, J. M. G., and Spakovszky, Z. S. (September 24, 2025). "On the Mechanism for Rotating Cavitation Onset in a Four-Bladed Rocket Engine Turbopump Inducer." ASME. J. Eng. Gas Turbines Power. December 2025; 147(12): 121027.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
Cavitation instabilities in liquid rocket engines can lead to turbopump performance degradation and catastrophic damage to engine components, and there is still a gap in understanding the underlying mechanisms governing the cavitation dynamics. The present study characterizes the different cavitation regimes of a four-bladed inducer using unsteady pressure and optical measurements, specifically the transition from tip vortex cavitation to alternate blade cavitation (ABC) and rotating cavitation (RC), depending on cavitation number. Cavitation compliance and mass flow gain factor, two key parameters characterizing inducer dynamics and pumping system stability, are inferred from the measurements using a previously developed dynamic inducer model. The criterion for rotating cavitation onset, governed by the position of the blade tip vortex, is validated via optical measurements. A first-principles-based model for the trajectory angle of the tip vortex cavitation is established and yields good agreement with experimental results. The paper demonstrates that the criterion for rotating cavitation onset is independent of inducer geometry and sets the stage for more generalized inducer design guidelines to address cavitation instability.
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Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4069455
