Numerical Investigation of Cavitation Bubble Jet Dynamics near a Spherical Particle

Abstract

Synergistic interaction between cavitation bubbles and particles is critical for the operational performance of hydro turbines. The jet dynamics near the wall have been extensively investigated; however, the jet dynamics near the particles are not clear. In the present paper, the bubble jet dynamics near a spherical particle are numerically investigated based on a compressible two-phase flow solver considering the effects of heat transfer and mass transfer between the phases. Furthermore, the effect of the distance between the particle and the initial position of the bubble on the jet characteristics is analyzed in detail. Based on the simulations, three typical cases (i.e., jet during the rebound stage, jet pointing towards the particle, two jets facing each other) of jet behavior are categorized together with the range of dimensionless parameters. As the distance between the particle and the bubble increases, the three cases of jet impacts occur in the rebound stage, in the first period, and in the transition from the first period to the rebound stage, respectively.