Bubble–bubble interaction effects on multiple bubbles dynamics in an ultrasonic cavitation field

Abstract

A vibratory erosion test rig is used to study the cavitation erosion of 6061 alloy. Some craters and material fracture are found on the specimen surface at the beginning of test. A cavitation model in an ultrasonic field is developed by applying the bubble–bubble interaction effect into Keller–Miksis equation to obtain the bubbles dynamic characteristics. The results reveal that the bubble cloud configuration is suitable for the explanation of cavitation erosion, and the erosion surfaces of the specimen were subjected to the effect of both massive bubbles collapsing, occurring in the thin liquid layer between the horn and the specimen. It is concluded that the optimal coupling strength of bubbles increases with the decrease of the bubble initial radius, and stable cavitation only occurs when the acoustic pressure amplitude is higher than a threshold value, which can well predict the experimental results.