Turbine Cavitation

Category: science

The structural erosion of turbine components caused by the rapid formation and violent collapse of low-pressure vapor bubbles in fluid streams.

Cavitation occurs when localized water pressure drops below its vapor pressure point, creating micro-bubbles on the back surfaces of turbine blades. As these bubbles move into higher-pressure zones near the discharge ring, they collapse violently, generating focused shock waves that pit steel surfaces, deform blade geometry, and cause severe mechanical vibration. Minimizing cavitation requires precision hydrodynamic design and trailing edge polishing.

Common Examples

• The inspection crew pulled the Francis runner to weld-repair surface pitting caused by intense turbine cavitation along the low-pressure suction side.
• Continuous acoustic monitoring inside the housing allows us to catch the high-frequency signatures of turbine cavitation before structural metal loss occurs.