cavitation
(kævɪˈteɪʃən)
[f. cavity: see -ation.]
1. The formation of bubbles or cavities in a fluid, esp. by the rapid motion of a propeller. Also attrib.
| 1895 Min. Proc. Inst. Civ. Engineers CXXII. 67 ‘Cavitation’, as Mr. Froude has suggested to the Authors that the phenomenon should be called, appears to manifest itself when the mean negative pressure exceeds about 63/4 lbs. per square inch. 1902 Nature 6 Nov. 24/1 The name cavitation is given to the phenomenon met with when a screw is driven in water at speeds above a certain limiting value. 1930 Engineering 21 Feb. 268/1 Much attention has also been given to discovering the causes of erosion, which is generally attributable to cavitation. 1934 Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. XXXVIII. 238 Measurements of free running screws in the cavitation tank. 1945 Ibid. XLIX. 378/1 Cavitation due to reduction in barometric pressure affects pump efficiency giving rise to reduced and erratic delivery with considerable noise and vibration. 1947 Crowther & Whiddington Science at War iv. 156 It was not effective at speeds above twelve knots owing to cavitation noise. 1957 Spaceflight I. 51/1 Cavitation, a phenomenon occurring in pumps and other hydraulic machinery when the fluid pressure falls locally to a certain critical value... The formation of bubbles can limit the performance of a pump. 1966 New Scientist 12 May 365/1 Cavitation is the formation of microscopic bubbles, dispersed throughout the liquid, when it is subjected to intense mechanical agitation. |
2. Path. The formation of cavities in the lungs as a result of disease.
| 1909 Practitioner Dec. 862 ‘Post-tussive suction’..is a very distinctive feature in advanced cavitation. 1952 J. W. Clegg in Sellors & Livingstone Mod. Pract. Tuberculosis I. v. 83 Acute tuberculous cavitation results from the liquefaction of a mass of caseous tissue and the expectoration of the debris through the bronchial tree. |