Fundamental study on cavitation erosion in liquid metal; Effect of liquid parameter on cavitation erosion in liquid metals (Joint research)

Hattori, Shuji*; Inoue, Fumitaka*; Kurachi, Hiroaki*; Watashi, Katsumi; Tsukimori, Kazuyuki; Hashimoto, Takashi; Yada, Hiroki 

Research on cavitation erosion in liquid metal is very important to confirm the safety of fast breeder reactor using sodium coolant. In this study, a cavitation erosion test apparatus was developed to carry out the erosion tests in low-temperature liquid metals. Cavitation erosion tests were carried out in liquid lead-bismuth alloy and in deionized water. We discuss the effect of liquid parameters and temperature effects on the erosion rate. We reach to the following conclusions. The erosion rate was evaluated in terms of a relative temperature which was defined as the percentage between freezing and boiling points. At 14 C relative temperature, the erosion rate is 10 times in lead-bismuth alloy, and 2 to 5 times in sodium, compared with that in deionized water. The erosion rate can be evaluated as a function of material density and sound velocity. Finally, the temperature dependence was discussed in term of liquid vapor pressure.