Measurement of the Influence of Sheet Cavitation on the Heat Generated in a Closed Loop Pumping System

The so-called hydrodynamic heat generators are claimed as high efficiency heating devices, avoiding scaling by warming liquids without transfer surface with the help of cavitation effects. However, neither the mechanisms trough which cavitation warms a liquid nor the amount of energy released to the surrounding liquid have been described or measured yet. The cavitation tunnel of the Spanish environmental engineering Condorchem Envitech, S. L. has been employed to perform a series of long tests and to measure the influence of steady sheet cavitation in the water heating process by comparing cavitating and non-cavitating regimes. The results show a linear dependency of the rate at which the system rises its temperature and the electrical power absorbed by the pump. When comparing rising heat rates between regimes of operation, the ambient temperature exercises a significant role: greater rates are always related to higher ambient temperatures. As a conclusion, the generation of heat in our closed loop pumping system appears to be independent of the presence of steady sheet cavitation.This study was financed by the regional government of Catalonia, through its program of Industrial Doctorates, and the environmental engineering company Condorchem Envitech, S.L. The authors would like to thank Sergio Tuset (CEO of Condorchem Envitech, S.L.) for sponsoring personally the associated research project.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version