<title>Shock waves and cavitation bubbles in water and isooctane generated by Nd:YAG laser: experimental and theoretical results</title>

Abstract

Temporal evolution of laser generated cavitation bubbles and shock waves were studied. Q-switched Nd-Yag laser pulses at 1064 nm are focused into the liquid. An Imager 3 CCD camera with multi exposure mode allows recording of 10 images with minimal exposure delay of 100 ns and minimal exposure time of 100 ns. Illumination is provided by xenon flash lamp for single exposure (shock wave recording) and by halogen lamp for multi exposure mode (bubble recording). Distilled water and a retrograde fluid, isooctane, have been under investigation to identify the differences in the cavitation process and shock wave propagation. The calculation of the shock wave velocities in water and isooctane are based on image recording at constant exposure time of 100 ns and using laser differential interferometry. Strong differences of bubble oscillation were observed in water and isooctane. Gilmore's model is used for numerical simulation of bubble dynamics.