Examination of Viscosity Effect on Cavitating Flow inside Poppet Valves Based on a Numerical Study

The higher susceptibility to cavitation in poppet valves due to the lower viscosity of water than the traditionally used mineral oil poses a challenge in fluid transmission technology. To reveal the underlying mechanism of cavitating flow physics associated with the variation in viscosity effect, the current paper examines both the water and oil cavitating flow dynamics inside poppet valves with varied structures through a numerical study. The simulation results are validated with a comparison to previous experimental data in terms of cavitation morphology and pressure distribution. According to the predicted cavitation distribution, three kinds of cavitation occurred at separated positions in both water- and oil-flow cases. The vortex cavitation, which in the oil-flow case displays a remarkable paired structure with favorable coherence, is featured with a scattered dispersion in the water-flow case, while the profound attached cavitation at the poppet trailing edge in the water-flow case almost disappears in the oil-flow case. Furthermore, the attached cavitation within the chamfered groove has higher stability in the oil-flow case, compared to the thorough detachment behavior featured with profound 3-dimensionality in the water-flow case. According to the potential core and vortex evolution, the strong 3-dimensionality due to the violent laminar-turbulent transition in the water-flow case together with the produced puff pattern of the potential core, to a large extent, interrupts the periodic behavior of cavitation, which is essentially preserved in the oil-flow case featured with favorable coherence.