Liquid Heating During the Collapse of a Single Cavitation Bubble

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a numerical study of the liquid heating process during collapse of a single spherical cavitation bubble in water at a liquid pressure of 10 bar, temperature of 20°C, and an initial bubble radius of 500 μm. The simulation of this phenomenon took into account the thermal conductivity of the vapor in the bubble and the surrounding liquid, heat transfer and evaporation/condensation on the surface of the bubble, and the effects of viscosity and compressibility of the liquid. It is shown that, as a result of bubble collapse, the liquid heats up in a region of about 60 μm radius. The temperature in the center of this region is about 50°C higher than in the surrounding liquid. The thermal energy expended on heating the liquid in this region is approximately equal to 25 μJ.