Thin Film Cavitation in Aviation Fuel

Thin film cavitation has been studied extensively in water, but little is known about thin film cavitation behavior in hydrocarbon fuels. Here we make use of a port plate experimental facility to study thin film cavitation, both in water and in JP5 fuel. Static pressure profiles were obtained of the cavitating region, and a barotropic model was modified to predict mean static pressure. High speed imaging was used to find the cavitating cloud collapse location, and to measure the speed of traveling shock waves. A new analytical model was developed, based on a spatial formulation of the Rayleigh–Plesset equation, that predicts the collapse location, and shows excellent agreement with the experimental data. These findings will inform designs of aircraft fuel components that experience damage from cavitation.