Cavitation cloud of waterjet under double excitation

Abstract

This study experimentally explores the interplay of active and passive excitation on double-excited cavitating waterjet clouds. High-speed imaging and high-frequency pressure sensors are used to characterize the impact of piezoelectric transducers for active excitation and nozzle lip geometries for strong, moderate, and weak passive excitation conditions. The analysis of pressure fluctuations revealed that under active excitation, the waterjet exhibited forced oscillations characterized by an amplitude amplification exceeding that of single passive excitation by an order of magnitude. High-speed imaging, combined with proper orthogonal decomposition, allowed us to observe an expansion in the volume, size, and effective standoff distance of cavitation clouds upon introducing active excitation across all passive excitation scenarios. The synergy between strong passive excitation and harmonized frequency with active excitation resulted in the most robust cavitation cloud development, characterized by the highest intensity.