Cinematographic observation of the collapse and rebound of a laser-produced cavitation bubble near a wall

Abstract

Collapse and rebound of a cavitation bubble near a wall are revisited with modern experimental means. The bubble is generated by the optical breakdown of the liquid when a strong laser pulse is focused into water. Observations are made with high-speed cinematography; framing rates range between several thousand and 100 million frames per second, and the spatial resolution is in the order of a few micrometres. After formation the bubble grows to a maximum size with a radius of 1.5 mm at the pulse energy used, and in the subsequent collapse a liquid jet evolves on the side opposite the wall and penetrates through the bubble. Using a shadowgraph technique and high framing rates, the emission of shock waves, which is observed at minimum bubble size, is resolved in detail. For a range of stand-off distances between the bubble centre and the wall, a counterjet forms during rebound. The counterjet is clearly resolved to consist of cavitation micro-bubbles, and a quantitative measure of its height evolution is given. Its emergence might be caused by a shock wave, and a possible connection of the observed shock wave scenario with the counterjet formation is discussed. No counterjets are observed when the stand-off distance is less than the maximum bubble radius, and the bubble shape becomes toroidal after the jet hits the wall. The jet impact on the wall produces a pronounced splash, which moves radially outwards in the space between the bubble and the wall. The volume compression at minimum bubble size is found to depend strongly on the stand-off distance. Some of the results are compared to numerical simulations by Tong et al. (1999), and the material presented may also be useful for comparison with future numerical work.