CFD analysis of a homogenizing valve in presence of cavitation

The main target of this first study about an high pressure homogenizer valve is to describe the flow field within the homogenizing valve through CFD simulations considering pure water as operating fluid. The importance of simulating the cavitation is highlighted in the paper, where different approaches for the description of flow through the valve are considered. The results of simulations, in terms of pressure drop vs. volumetric flow rate characteristics, are compared with experimental data achieved from tests carried out on an industrial size homogenizer