Simulation of collapsing cavitation bubbles in various liquids by lattice Boltzmann model coupled with the Redlich-Kwong-Soave equation of state.

Abstract

A computational technique based on the pseudo-potential multiphase lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is employed to investigate the collapse dynamics of cavitation bubbles of various liquids in the vicinity of the solid surface with different wettability conditions. The Redlich-Kwong-Soave equation of state (EoS) that includes an acentric factor is incorporated to consider the physical properties of water (H_{2}O), liquid nitrogen (LN_{2}), and liquid hydrogen (LH_{2}) in the present simulations. Accuracy and performance of the present multiphase LBM are examined by simulation of the homogenous and heterogeneous cavitation phenomena. The good agreement of the results obtained based on the present solution algorithm in comparison with the available data confirms the validity and capability of the multiphase LBM employed. Then, the cavitation bubble collapse near the solid wall is studied by considering the H_{2}O, LN_{2}, and LH_{2} fluids, and the wettability effect of the surface on the collapse dynamics is investigated. The obtained results demonstrate that the collapse phenomenon for the H_{2}O is more aggressive than that of the LH_{2} and LN_{2}. The cavitation bubble of the water has a shorter collapse time with an intense liquid jet, while the collapse process in the LN_{2} takes a longer time due to the larger radius of its bubble at the rebound. Also, this study demonstrates that the increment of the hydrophobicity of the wall causes less energy absorption by the solid surface from the liquid phase around the bubble that leads to form a liquid jet with higher kinetic energy. Therefore, the bubble collapse process occurs more quickly for hydrophobic surfaces, regardless of the fluids considered. The present study shows that the pseudopotential LBM with incorporating an appropriate EoS and a robust forcing scheme is an efficient numerical technique for simulation of the dynamics of the cavitation bubble collapse in different fluids.