Question

A pump is used to transport water to a higher reservoir. if the water temperature is 15ºc, determine the lowest pressure that can exist in the pump without cavitation. the vapor pressure of water at 15ºc is 1.706 kpa. the lowest pressure that can exist in the pump without cavitation is kpa.

Answer 1

Normally, the water pressure inside a pump is higher than the vapor pressure: in this case, at the interface between the liquid and the vapor, molecules from the liquid escapes into vapour form. Instead, when the pressure of the water becomes lower than the vapour pressure, molecules of vapour can go inside the water forming bubbles: this phenomenon is called cavitation. 

So, cavitation occurs when the pressure of the water becomes lower than the vapour pressure. In our problem, vapour pressure at $15^{\circ}$ is 1.706 kPa. Therefore, the lowest pressure that can exist in the pump without cavitation, at this temperature, is exactly this value: 1.706 kPa.