Cavitation research from an intetrnational perspective

This paper reviews some current research at the Saint Anthony Falls Laboratory from the perspective of the experience gained from cooperative research in other laboratories that the author has had the opportunity to participate in for several decades. Examples are drawn from the author's experience with collaborative efforts in China, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, and the US. Emphasis is placed on the progress in our understanding of the physics of cavitation as influenced by water quality, i.e. the strength of the water as influenced by the concentration of free and dissolved gas and complex fluid dynamic factors such as turbulence. The shift from experimental research to studies involving an integrated experimental/numerical approach is also underscored. Examples are drawn from early studies of inception and acoustics, vortex cavitation and more recent research on sheet/cloud cavitation and supercavitation. Some thoughts on new directions are also presented.