Why should valves operate as freely of cavitation as possible?

Cavitation is the occurrence and dissipation of steam bubbles in fluids as a result of pressure fluctuations: According to Bernoulli's law, the static pressure of a fluid decreases as velocity increases.

However, if the velocity is very high, the static pressure will fall under the evaporation pressure of the medium. Gas bubbles will form in the medium and will suddenly implode in the hollow spaces in the event of a rise in static pressure.

This will result in the occurrence of extreme pressure peaks which may damage the valve and the following system. Cavitation may cause mechanical stress on the surface of the following pipelines - and result in complete cavitation erosion and the consequential formation of holes.