Numerical and acoustic investigation of cavitation phenomena in centrifugal hydraulic pumps

Cavitation significantly reduces the performance and efficiency of centrifugal pumps. This study investigates cavitation behavior in a CRT 100-BR centrifugal pump using ISO 22 hydraulic oil produced locally at the Dora Refinery, Iraq, through a combination of numerical simulations (ANSYS CFX) and acoustic signal analysis. The pump operated at 6 bar, 2800 rpm, and 280 L/min. Acoustic signals recorded by a microphone were analyzed in MATLAB using mean, RMS, and peak amplitude indicators, revealing that peak amplitude values were approximately 42.86% higher than RMS, effectively detecting cavitation onset. Numerical simulations evaluated turbulent kinetic energy and vapor volume fraction at flow rates from 50 to 300 L/min, showing a 45% increase in vapor fraction and a 65% rise in turbulence energy when the flow increased from 200 to 300 L/min. These results demonstrate that integrating CFD modeling of turbulence and vapor fraction with acoustic analysis provides a reliable and efficient method for cavitation detection and pump condition monitoring.