Cavitation is a condition where water is being discharged faster than it is entering the pump.

Cavitation is a condition where water is being discharged faster than it is entering the pump.

• A. Cavitation
• B. Normal operation
• C. Backflow
• D. Blockage

Answer: (A)

Cavitation happens when the pressure on the suction side of the pump drops below the water’s vapor pressure, so vapor bubbles form in the fluid. If the pump is drawing water faster than it can be supplied at the inlet, the local pressure falls, triggering bubble formation. When those bubbles move into higher-pressure regions inside the impeller, they collapse violently, causing noise, vibration, and damage, and also reducing the pump’s performance. So the description of water being discharged faster than it enters aligns with cavitation because it points to insufficient inlet supply and low suction pressure leading to vapor formation. Normal operation would have balanced inflow and outflow with pressures well above vapor pressure; backflow implies the liquid moves in the opposite direction, and a blockage constricts flow rather than causing vaporization.

Cavitation happens when the pressure on the suction side of the pump drops below the water’s vapor pressure, so vapor bubbles form in the fluid. If the pump is drawing water faster than it can be supplied at the inlet, the local pressure falls, triggering bubble formation. When those bubbles move into higher-pressure regions inside the impeller, they collapse violently, causing noise, vibration, and damage, and also reducing the pump’s performance. So the description of water being discharged faster than it enters aligns with cavitation because it points to insufficient inlet supply and low suction pressure leading to vapor formation. Normal operation would have balanced inflow and outflow with pressures well above vapor pressure; backflow implies the liquid moves in the opposite direction, and a blockage constricts flow rather than causing vaporization.