An experimental flow visualization was conducted to investigate the behavior of superheated water jets flowing through an L-shaped pipe, which is used in a water/liquid nitrogen rocket engine. Previous studies have visualized the occurrence and development of cavitation within such a pipe using numerical simulations; however, a comparative analysis with experimental flow visualization is necessary to validate these findings. Therefore, a test setup was constructed to model the L-shaped piping of the experimental supply system, and flow visualizations were conducted. A 2D pipe was employed for the visualization apparatus. The results indicated a reduction in the separation region at the corner of the L-shaped pipe as the inlet pressure and corresponding flow velocity increased. However, due to the structural limitations of the visualization apparatus, we were unable to confirm the occurrence and development of cavitation.
Tagami et al. (Wed,) studied this question.