2.1.1 Dynamic Mass Fraction of Vapor
Singhal et al. [
22] proposed a transmission equation for computing the vapor mass fraction while computing the dynamic fraction of vapor in an aerated hydraulic fluid.
$$\frac{\partial }{\partial t}\left( {\rho f_{{\text{v}}} } \right) + \nabla \cdot \left( {\rho {\mathbf{U}}f_{{\text{v}}} } \right) = \nabla \cdot \left( {\Gamma \nabla f_{{\text{v}}} } \right) + R,$$
(1)
where
t represents time (s),
\({\mathbf{U}}\) the transmission rate of vapor,
\(\rho\) the density of the aerated hydraulic fluid (kg/m
3),
\(f_{{\text{v}}}\) the vapor mass fraction of the aerated hydraulic fluid, and
\(R\) the phase change speed between liquid and vapor.
We assume that fluid attributes, such as the density and pressure of the fluid in the control volume, are uniformly distributed. Therefore, Eq. (
1) can be simplified to the following form by disregarding the diffusive term, where the position derivative is used as the basis in the transmission equation:
$$f_{{\text{v}}} \frac{{{\text{d}}\rho }}{{{\text{d}}t}} + \rho \frac{{{\text{d}}f_{{\text{v}}} }}{{{\text{d}}t}} = R,$$
(2)
Typically, the density of an aerated hydraulic fluid typically does not change significantly when cavitation occurs and
\(\frac{{{\text{d}}\rho }}{{{\text{d}}t}} < < \frac{{{\text{d}}f_{{\text{v}}} }}{{{\text{d}}t}}\). Thus, Eq. (
1) can be further simplified as follows:
$$\frac{{{\text{d}}f_{{\text{v}}} }}{{{\text{d}}t}} = R_{{\text{s}}} ,$$
(3)
where
\(R_{{\text{s}}}\) is the simplified phase change speed.
From the perspective of bubble collapse and formation in liquid, the bubble dynamics equation derived from the Rayleigh–Plesset equation can be used to calculate the phase transition rate between the liquid and vapor, as follows:
$$R_{{\text{B}}} \frac{{{\text{d}}^{2} R_{{\text{B}}} }}{{{\text{d}}t^{2} }} + \frac{3}{2}\left( {\frac{{{\text{d}}R_{{\text{B}}} }}{{{\text{d}}t}}} \right)^{2} = P - \frac{{4\nu_{{\text{l}}} }}{{R_{B} }}\frac{{{\text{d}}R_{{\text{B}}} }}{{{\text{d}}t}} - \frac{2\sigma }{{\rho_{{\text{l}}} R_{{\text{B}}} }},$$
(4)
where
\(R_{{\text{B}}}\) is the bubble radius (m),
\(\nu_{{\text{l}}}\) the fluid kinematic viscosity (m
2/s),
\(\sigma\) the surface tension coefficient of the liquid (N/m),
\(P\) the ratio of the difference between the internal pressure of the bubble and the pressure of the fluid to the density of the liquid, and
\(\rho_{{\text{l}}}\) the density of the liquid (kg/m
3).
P is expressed as
$$P = \left( {\frac{{p_{{\text{B}}} - p}}{{\rho_{{\text{l}}} }}} \right),$$
(5)
where
\(p_{{\text{B}}}\) is the internal pressure of the bubble (Pa), and
p is the pressure of the fluid (Pa).
The surface tension coefficient
\(\sigma\) is computed as follows [
29,
30]:
$$\sigma = \sigma_{0} \left( {1 - \frac{T}{{T_{{\text{c}}} }}} \right)^{\delta } ,$$
(6)
where
\(\sigma_{0}\) is initial surface tension coefficient of the liquid (N/m),
\(T_{{\text{c}}}\) the critical temperature of the liquid (K),
T the system operating temperature (K), and
\(\delta\) a global exponent.
Based on the derivation process of the full cavitation model and the bubble dynamics equation, as well as disregarding the viscosity term in the equation, the net phase transition rate can be expressed as [
15]
$$R = \frac{{3\alpha_{{\text{v}}} }}{{R_{{\text{B}}} }}\frac{{\rho_{{\text{v}}} \rho_{{\text{l}}} }}{{\rho^{2} }}\left[ {\frac{2}{3}P - \frac{2}{3}\frac{2\sigma }{{\rho_{{\text{l}}} R_{{\text{B}}} }} - \frac{2}{3}R_{{\text{B}}} \frac{{{\text{d}}^{2} R_{{\text{B}}} }}{{{\text{d}}t^{2} }}} \right]^{{{1 \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {1 2}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} 2}}} ,$$
(7)
where
\(\alpha_{{\text{v}}}\) is the volumetric vapor fraction of the aerated hydraulic fluid, and
\(\rho_{{\text{v}}}\) is the density of the vapor (kg/m
3).
By substituting
R into Eq. (
7) and disregarding the second-order derivative of the bubble radius, the following formula is obtained:
$$\frac{{{\text{d}}f_{{\text{v}}} }}{{{\text{d}}t}} = \frac{{3\alpha_{{\text{v}}} }}{{R_{{\text{B}}} }}\frac{{\rho_{{\text{v}}} \rho_{{\text{l}}} }}{{\rho^{2} }}\left[ {\frac{2}{3}P - \frac{2}{3}\frac{2\sigma }{{\rho_{{\text{l}}} R_{{\text{B}}} }}} \right]^{{{1 \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {1 2}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} 2}}} ,$$
(8)
where
\(\alpha_{{\text v}}\) can be expressed as a function of
\(f_{{\text v}}\) as follows:
$$\alpha_{{\text{v}}} = f_{{\text{v}}} \left( t \right)\frac{\rho }{{\rho_{{\text{v}}} }},$$
(9)
By assuming that all bubbles have the same radius and that the balance between aerodynamic drag and liquid surface tension determines the bubble radius,
\(R_{{\text{B}}}\) can be calculated as follows [
30]:
$$R_{{\text{B}}} = \frac{0.061W\sigma }{{2\rho_{{\text{l}}} v_{{{\text{rel}}}}^{2} }},$$
(10)
where
\(W\) is the Weber number.
For an aerated hydraulic fluid containing bubbles,
\(v_{{{\text{rel}}}}^{{}}\) is the relative velocity of the aerated hydraulic fluid, whose value is relatively small, i.e., 5%–10% of the mean velocity of the fluid. By substituting Eqs. (
9) and (
10) into Eq. (
8), the following equation is obtained:
$$\frac{{{\text{d}}f_{{\text{v}}} }}{{{\text{d}}t}} = \frac{{6v_{{{\text{rel}}}}^{2} }}{0.061W\sigma }\frac{{\rho_{{\text{l}}} \rho_{{\text{l}}} }}{\rho }\left| {P^{\prime} - \frac{2}{3}\frac{{4v_{{{\text{rel}}}}^{2} }}{0.061W}} \right|^{{{1 \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {1 2}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} 2}}} f_{{\text{v}}} ,$$
(11)
Here,
$$P^{\prime} = \frac{2}{3}\frac{{p_{{\text{v}}} - p}}{{\rho_{{\text{l}}} }},$$
(12)
where
\(p_{{\text{v}}}\) is the saturated vapor pressure (Pa).
Using the analysis methods presented in Refs. [
22,
23],
\(v_{{{\text{rel}}}}^{{2}}\) can be expressed as a function of two components: one is
\(\sqrt k\), which is the delegate of the flowing state of the fluid; and the other is a component simplified with the parameters in Eq. (
11), such as the Weber number and the surface tension coefficient to the vapor condensation coefficient
\(a_{11}\) for characterizing the speed of vapor condensation. Thus, when the pressure of the aerated hydraulic fluid remains higher than the saturation vapor pressure, the coagulation of vapor can be described as
$$\frac{{{\text{d}}f_{{\text{v}}} }}{{{\text{d}}t}} = a_{11} \sqrt k \frac{{\rho_{{\text{l}}} \rho_{{\text{l}}} }}{\rho }\left[ {\left| {P^{\prime} - \frac{4}{9}a_{11} \sigma \sqrt k } \right|} \right]^{{{1 \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {1 2}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} 2}}} f_{{\text{v}}} .$$
(13)
Subsequently, the formula for turbulent energy can be used to calculate the turbulent energy of the aerated hydraulic fluid, as follows:
$$k = \frac{3}{2}\left( {\mu l} \right)^{2} ,$$
(14)
where
\(\mu\) is the mean velocity (m/s), and
\(l\) is the turbulence intensity.
The condensation of vapor is associated with the vapor mass fraction, and during vaporization, residual liquid is regarded as the source of vapor. Therefore, analogous to Eq. (
13) is a polynomial function of pressure. The segmented expression for the air mass fraction is
$$\frac{{{\text{d}}f_{{\text{v}}} }}{{{\text{d}}t}} = a_{12} \sqrt k \frac{{\rho_{{\text{v}}} \rho_{{\text{l}}} }}{\rho }\left[ {\left| {P^{\prime} - \frac{4}{9}a_{12} \sigma \sqrt k } \right|} \right]^{{{1 \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {1 2}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} 2}}} \left( {1 - f_{{\text{v}}} - f_{{{\text{g}}0}} } \right),$$
(15)
where
\(a_{12}\) is the vaporization coefficient of the vapor, and
\(f_{{{\text{g0}}}}\) is the initial air mass fraction in the aerated hydraulic fluid.
2.1.2 Dynamic Mass Fraction of Air
The air pressure required to release air in an aerated hydraulic fluid is typically higher than the saturated vapor pressure required for vaporization. Cavitation typically involves a significant amount of air released from an aerated hydraulic fluid in a short duration and a rapid collapse of gas or vapor bubbles when the pressure increases. Because air constitutes the air phase in an aerated hydraulic fluid, the Rayleigh–Plesset equation can be applied to describe the release and dissolution of air. In addition to Eqs. (
11) and (
15), the following assumptions can be applied as bases for obtaining the air release and dissolution equation:
1.
\(f_{{{\text{gH}}}}\) is the theoretical target value of the air mass fraction (steady-state value) when the pressure function time is sufficiently long. Meanwhile, when the transient pressure remains below the saturation vapor pressure, all of the dissolved air should be released. When the transient pressure remains above the air apart pressure, all free air should dissolve, which results in a
\(f_{{{\text{gH}}}}\) of zero. Subsequently, using the improved Henry’s law, when the transient pressure is within the ranges of the saturation vapor and air apart pressures, the target value of
\(f_{{{\text{gH}}}}\) is a polynomial function of pressure. The segmented expression of the air mass fraction is
$$f_{{{\text{gH}}}} = \left\{ \begin{gathered} f_{\text g0} {,\, }p \le p_{{\text{v}}} , \hfill \\ f_{{{\text{g}}0}} \left( {1 - 10k_{{\text{g}}}^{3} + 15k_{{\text{g}}}^{4} - 6k_{{\text{g}}}^{5} } \right){,\, }p_{{\text{v}}} < p \le p_{{\text{s}}} , \hfill \\ \, 0{,\, }p > p_{{\text{s}}} , \hfill \\ \end{gathered} \right.$$
(16)
where
\(p_{{\text{v}}}\) is the saturated vapor pressure (Pa),
\(p_{{\text{s}}}\) is the air apart pressure (Pa), and
\(k_{{\text{g}}}^{{}}\) is expressed as
$$k_{{\text{g}}}^{{}} = \frac{{p - p_{{\text{v}}} }}{{p_{{\text{s}}} - p_{{\text{v}}} }},$$
(17)
2. \(f_{{\text{g}}}\) is the instantaneous air mass fraction. When \(f_{{\text{g}}}\) is lower than \(f_{{{\text{gH}}}}\), air should be released from the liquid; otherwise, it should dissolve gradually.
When
\(f_{{\text{g}}} \le f{}_{{\text {gH}}}\), the air release equation is
$$\frac{{{\text{d}}f_{{\text{g}}} }}{{{\text{d}}t}} = a_{21} \sqrt k \frac{{\rho_{{\text{l}}} \rho_{{\text{l}}} }}{\rho }\left[ {\left| {P^{\prime\prime} - \frac{4}{9}a_{21} \sigma \sqrt k } \right|} \right]^{{{1 \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {1 2}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} 2}}} \left( {f_{{{\text{gH}}}} - f_{{\text{g}}} } \right),$$
(18)
where
\(a_{21}\) is coefficient of air release.
Meanwhile,
\(P^{\prime\prime}\) can be written as
$$P^{\prime\prime} = \frac{2}{3}\left( {\frac{{p_{{\text{s}}} - p}}{{\rho_{{\text{l}}} }}} \right).$$
(19)
When
\(f_{{\text{g}}} > f{}_{{\text {gH}}}\), the dissolution of air is expressed as
$$\frac{{{\text{d}}f_{{\text{g}}} }}{{{\text{d}}t}} = - a_{22} \sqrt k \frac{{\rho_{{\text{l}}} \rho_{{\text{l}}}^{{}} }}{\rho }\left[ {\left| {P^{\prime\prime} - \frac{4}{9}a_{22} \sigma \sqrt k } \right|} \right]^{{{1 \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {1 2}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} 2}}} f_{{\text{g}}} ,$$
(20)
where
\(a_{22}\) is the coefficient of air dissolution.