Frequency Modulation and Erosion Performance of a Self-Resonating Jet

The self-resonating water jet offers the advantages of both a cavitation jet and a pulsed jet, and thus has been widely used for many practical applications. In the present study, the 120◦ -impinging edge Helmholtz nozzle was investigated for better erosion performance. The oscillating mechanism was analyzed from both numerical and experimental perspectives. The results showed that the cavitation clouds in the chamber dominate the oscillating frequency. The frequency resulting from the non-linear interaction was also observed in the simulation. The dominant frequency increases linearly as pressure decreases without entrained air. The frequency modulation was achieved through various inspiratory methods, and the modulation range was dependent on the pressure drop. The erosion performance was improved with entrained air, and the improvement was effected by the inspiratory method. The oscillating frequency was determined by the forced frequency of entrained air, and the best erosion performance was achieved at the frequency closest to the fundamental frequency. A feasible method to improve the erosion performance was investigated in this preliminary study, which could provide a guide for practical applications.