Bubble Collapse Research Articles

Numerical investigation of hydroxyl radicals produced by a single bubble in jet pump cavitation reactor

Jet pump cavitation reactors (JPCRs) have significant potential to be used in water treatment applications. During their operation, the hydroxyl radicals generated by cavitation collapse produce a strong oxidation capacity, which is one of the key mechanisms in disrupting algal cells. In this paper, we investigate the hydroxyl radicals produced by single cavitation bubble in a JPCR. The numerical method includes a bubble dynamic model, molecular diffusion model, energy balance equation, and chemical reaction model for predicting the hydroxyl radical production. Additionally, the pressure distribution within a JPCR is tested and used to analyze the single-bubble performance. The effects of the JPCR operating conditions and structure parameters on hydroxyl radical production are further discussed. Our results indicate that, when the flow rate ratio is positive, the number of hydroxyl radicals is closely related to the development and collapse of the cavitation bubble and reaches a peak value under the critical condition. When the flow rate ratio is negative, the maximum production of hydroxyl radicals appears under backflow stagnation condition. In general, increasing the throat length–diameter ratio and diffuser angle encourages the production of hydroxyl radicals, whereas increasing the area ratio inhibits their generation.

Saliva bubbles: How saliva foam impacts aroma release and retronasal perception during oral processing

Saliva foam can be easily formed upon different oral movement, but the impact of saliva foam on aroma release and perception is less investigated. Recruited subjects were asked to chew mint-flavor gums to mimic saliva foam generation. During gum-chewing, i.) subjects' retronasal release and dynamic perception of menthol and ii) their salivary bubble number and size, were continuously monitored. In the ‘normal series’ of experiments, bubbles were generated by the oral behavior of mastication; and in the ‘defoamed series’ of experiments, a defoaming agent was simultaneously added to eliminate the bubble effect during mastication. A continuous formation and collapse of saliva bubbles in the normal group led to a stable higher release of menthol in subjects' exhalation and significantly higher mint flavor perception (p < 0.05). In the defoamed series, saliva bubble numbers were reduced drastically (1–2 orders of magnitude) and more menthol was retained in saliva, which further affected subjects' intensity perception. Multiple physiological factors including salivary protein concentration, viscosity and surface tension contributed to the individual sensory perception variations, and no single parameter could explain the exact relationship between aroma release and retronasal perception. This study provided insights on the aroma delivery in food matrix design and development.

Dynamics of a cavitation bubble confined in a thin liquid layer at null Kelvin impulse

In this work, we experimentally and numerically investigate cavitation bubble dynamics in a thin liquid layer surrounded by gas. We focus on configurations featuring strongly confined bubbles at dimensionless bubble-free surface stand-off distances D* below unity. Additionally, we impose the condition of null Kelvin impulse, subjecting a bubble to the oppositely equal influence of two opposing free surfaces, resulting in the formation of two convergent water jets. We observe a diverse spectrum of jetting phenomena, including broad jets, mushroom-capped jets, and cylindrical jets. These jets become progressively thinner and faster with lower D* values, reaching radii as small as 3% of the maximal bubble radius and speeds up to 150 m/s. Numerical results reveal a linear relationship between the jet impact velocity and the local curvature at the bubble region proximal to the free surface. This suggests that the magnitude of bubble deformation during its growth phase is the primary factor influencing the observed fivefold increase in the jet impact velocity in the parameter space considered. Our findings show that bubble collapse intensity is progressively dampened with increased confinement of its environment. As D* decreases beyond a critical value, the liquid layer separating the bubble and ambient air thins, leading to the onset of interfacial shape instabilities, its breakdown, and bubble atomization. Furthermore, we compare bubbles at zero Kelvin impulse to corresponding anisotropic scenarios with a single free surface, revealing that the dynamics of axial jets until the time of impact is primarily influenced by the proximal free surface. The impact of convergent axial jets at null Kelvin impulse results in local pressure transients up to 100 MPa and triggers the formation of a fast and thin annular outflow in the form of a liquid sheet, affected by the Rayleigh–Plateau and flapping shape instability.

Simulation of the Effect of Particle-bubble Size Ratio on the Collapsing Dynamics of a Cavitation Bubble Near a Particle

Abstract The synergistic effect of cavitation bubbles and sediment particles on material damage is a significant problem in fluid machinery. The dynamic behavior of a cavitation bubble near a spherical particle were simulated in this study using the Volume of Fluid (VOF) method. The effects of the particle-bubble size ratio δ on the bubble profiles, the collapse time, the micro-jets and the pressure at the particle surface have been investigated under the conditions of three values of stand-off distance γ. The results show that (1) the bubble collapse time rises as the particle-bubble size ratio δ increases; (2) the peak values of the maximum jet velocity and the maximum pressure exerting on the particle appear at γ = 1.0 and δ = 1.2, which are 165.3 m/s and 10.46 MPa, respectively; (3) the influence on the particle caused by the micro-jets cannot be ignored when the stand-off distance is less than 1.5.

Morphological characteristics and cleaning effects of collapsing cavitation bubble in fractal cracks

When a cavitation bubble collapses in a crack, due to the lack of symmetry, spatial uniformity, and obvious correlations during the collapse process, it is difficult to effectively explore the interaction mechanism between the bubble and crack walls. In this paper, a combination of numerical simulation and experimental approaches are used to explore the collapse process of a cavitation bubble in a fractal crack. The numerical model is based on the pseudopotential multi-relaxation-time lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). The experiment platform including an underwater pulsed discharge device combined with a high-speed camera system. Moreover, the morphological analysis method based on Minkowski functionals is used to quantitatively depict the morphological features in this paper. The validity of the numerical model is qualitatively verified by the experimental platform, whereas the influence of the complexity and geometric features of the crack wall on the cavitation bubble collapse process is quantitatively studied by LBM simulation and Minkowski functionals. The research findings indicate that the complexity and geometric features of the crack wall markedly influence the collapse time and behavior of the cavitation bubble. Specifically, the collapse time of the cavitation bubble increases with the increasing complexity of the crack wall. Moreover, the maximum jet direction of cavitation bubble toward the wall is closest to the cavitation bubble. Furthermore, as the fractal dimension increases, the intensity of the pressure wave and jet acting upon the crack wall increase while the radiation range decreases. Cavitation cleaning can be applied to arbitrary complex solid surfaces in various environments.

Damage effect of underwater explosion bubble on concrete gravity dam

The underwater explosion bubble accounts for half of the total explosive energy and has been found to induce serious structural damage to ship structures. However, the existing research has commonly ignored the damage effect of an underwater explosion bubble on a concrete gravity dam. The current study aims to narrow this gap through high-fidelity numerical simulations and scale model tests. A fully-coupled numerical model is established first and is validated by small-scale centrifugal model tests. The bubble dynamics of underwater explosions near the perpendicular dam structure have been explored. The main focus is then on the sequential damage effects of the underwater explosion shock wave, bubble pulse, bubble jet, and bubble collapse on a concrete gravity dam. It is found that the shock wave causes a first attack, inducing tensile cracks in the vulnerable part of the dam. Subsequently, the bubble pulse generates a secondary attack, facilitating the penetration of the tensile crack throughout the entire dam structure. Additionally, the bubble jet driving the high-speed fluid flow and the bubble collapse causing the uplifted free water surface, united with the upstream reservoir water with huge hydrostatic pressure, largely accelerate the fracture of the dam, then facilitate the fractured dam to fall downstream leaving a breach with certain widths in the dam’s upper part, and finally speed up the discharge of the upstream reservoir water through the breach. It also finds that the underwater explosion bubble can generate no new cracks in the gravity dam, even in the pre-damaged area as long as there are no obvious pre-cracks by the shock wave. That is, the shock wave is the key trigger for dam failure, without which the dam failure will not happen, while the bubble, united with the upstream reservoir water, accelerates the process of dam failure.

Hydroelasticity effects induced by a single cavitation bubble collapse

To investigate hydroelasticity effects on a single cavitation bubble dynamic, a focused laser was used to generate the bubble in water near a flexible aluminium foil fixed to a specimen holder with a circular aperture to allow the foil to vibrate. The bubble was generated below the foil's center. A laser-based optical sensor measured the displacement at the center of the foil. Simultaneously, a high-speed camera monitored the bubble's dynamics to correlate it with the foil's displacement. By directly measuring the foil's displacements, we provided building block missing in previous investigations. We found that a key difference between bubble dynamics near a rigid and an elastic structure was that, at relative wall distances larger or equal to unity, the bubble did not collapse on the elastic foil. The bubble's dynamics caused dominant foil displacements during its first growth (after plasma seeding) and during its subsequent collapse. Foil displacements during the bubble's first collapse were about twice as large as those during its growth phase. For lower relative wall distances, the induced foil displacements were significant until the bubble's third collapse. At larger relative wall distances, the bubble did not collapse on the elastic foil and, thus, it did not induce erosion. However, it caused foil vibrations and, therefore, may contribute to the foil's structural fatigue damage. Our study postulates that the cavitation may not be erosive, however it can induce impulsive loads causing vibrations and thereby fatigue damage of nearby structures.

Numerical Study on the Dynamics of a Charged Bubble in the Acoustic Field

In this paper, the dynamics of an acoustic bubble with a constant charge in compressible liquid are investigated numerically, which is based on the Gilmore-NASG model to estimate the radial oscillations. The cavitation effects are enhanced due to the presence of the charge on the bubble surface. The obtained results from the present model are compared with that calculated by the previous model within a wide range of parameters (e.g., charge, acoustic pressure amplitude, ultrasound frequency, and liquid temperature). The similar influences of these parameters on bubble collapse intensity can be observed from both models. Since the present model fully considers the compressibility of gas and liquid, it can be applied to a wider parameter range and leads to the larger predicted values. The research in this paper can provide important insights about the effects of charge on bubble dynamics and the acoustic cavitation applications (e.g., sonochemistry, water treatment, and food industry).

Dynamic response of the elastic boundary near a single cavitation bubble

We studied the physical mechanism behind the bubble-elastic boundary interaction. In the present paper, three high-speed cameras were used to simultaneously test. Through digital image correlation technology, experimental data were obtained and analyzed, such as elastic boundary deformation. The results revealed that, due to the convex-concave deformation of the elastic boundary, the maximum collapse velocity occurred on both sides of the bubble wall. The deformation of the elastic boundary first increased and then decreased as the initial bubble-boundary distance decreased. We found that the convex deformation of the elastic boundary was exceptional, and nearby was gully, which greatly disturbed the flow field and thus affected the bubble collapse evolution. The boundary deformation velocity was in the shape of a ring, that is, the deformation was transmitted around the boundary in the form of a wave, diffusing energy. Overall, elastic boundary absorbed energy through its own convex-concave deformation, and this energy was transferred to the elastic boundary to alleviate the damage of cavitation bubbles.

Multibubble sonoluminescence in supercooled water.

Cavitation in supercooled water has been induced by the short ultrasound pulses of an ultrasonic horn driven at 20kHz. The cavitation during the ultrasonic pulses and occasionally the crystallization events thereafter have been imaged by a high-speed camera. The probability of ice crystallization in dependence on the pulse duration and temperature showed a high chance for the water to remain liquid if sufficiently short bursts of moderate acoustic power were applied. This regime has been used for the assessment of sonoluminescence (SL) from the generated cavitation bubbles in the supercooled liquid state. To this end, light emitting events were summed up over a number of ultrasonic pulses by an image intensifier. SL appeared mostly directly under the tip of the ultrasonic horn and sometimes also a few millimeters below the tip. The intensity of SL events showed a slight rise for a decrease in temperature, i.e., for an increase in supercooling. This behavior is in accord with the SL dependence on temperature above the freezing point and might be attributed to a further lowering of vapor pressure. An increase in the bubble collapse peak temperature for increased supercooling is calculated on the basis of spherical bubble model calculations, which supports the findings. The simulations predict further that the peak temperature will fall off again beyond a certain supercooling level.

Probing thermodynamics of radiogenic helium and defects in δ-plutonium alloys and interactions with adsorbed environmental gases

Differential scanning calorimetry coupled with simultaneous evolved gas analysis (DSC-EGA) on aged δ-Pu samples shows that most radiogenic helium remains trapped within the Pu matrix at temperatures very close to, or slightly above, the melting temperature. Our results indicate that helium release from 50-year-old δ-Pu occurs as a burst just below the melting temperature (>0.994 Tm), with subsequent pressure oscillations as temperature increases. Subordinate quantities of H2 were also released along with helium. The helium emission tails off and ceases above ∼720 – 750°C. In a δ-Pu alloy aged 6 years, the initial helium burst occurs slightly above melting (∼1.015 – 1.042 Tm), with a discrete, larger helium spike occurring between 670 and 686°C. The proximity of helium release to the liquidus transition presented challenges in the deconvolution of overlapping process enthalpies, the liquidus endotherm, and the exotherm resulting from bubble collapse, annealing and gas expulsion. Helium’s strong affinity for vacancy binding in a 2He-vac configuration is predicted by Density Functional Theory (DFT) modeling. The measured stored energy associated with the He release events in a 50-year-old δ alloy is on the order of ∼10–11 J/g, which is significantly higher than stored energies measured in the sub-solidus regimes (∼2 J/g) that are related to the solid-state annealing of processing- and radiation-induced defects. This implies that aged δ Pu alloys have a remarkable resilience to accommodate the lattice strain produced by the internal pressure of the helium bubbles and provides further insight into the thermodynamic behavior of aged δ Pu.

Experimental Study of a Novel Helix-Shaped Oscillating Heat Pipe and Design Parameters for Flow Stabilization

Abstract Abstract A novel helix-shaped oscillating heat pipe (OHP) designed for enhanced heat transfer in thermal management and heat recovery was studied experimentally. Two orientations were explored: side-heated, the intended orientation in which improved fluid circulation is expected, and bottom-heated, a control resembling traditional bottom-heated OHPs. Results showed stronger circulation, reduced temperature differences, and lower start-up thresholds in most side-heated cases. This orientation achieved higher maximum heat loads at a fill ratio of 0.5, although the maximum heat load decreased at a fill ratio of 0.7. Notably, the experimental OHP attained an effective thermal conductivity over 9,000 W m-K-1 in multiple tests and a maximum heat transport of 676 W. Additional parameters were explored including heat load, fill ratio, condenser temperature, and the presence of noncondensable gases (NCGs). NCGs increased the temperature drop as expected, but also raised the maximum heat transport, indicating potential benefits in certain applications. Elevated condenser temperatures decreased temperature drops, but also reduced maximum heat transport. A previously developed OHP performance model was expanded to evaluate the novel helix-shaped OHP. The model reasonably predicted temperature drops during degassed experiments under moderate heat loads. However, most data points fell outside the model's scope, emphasizing the need to extend it to handle condenser bubble collapse. The expanded analytical models for side-heated helix OHPs highlighted restrictions on circulation that differed from traditional, bottom-heated OHPs, which explains the superior performance of the novel design.

On the spatio-temporal dynamics of cavitating turbulent shear flow over a microscale backward-facing step: A numerical study

The influence of cavitation on the mean characteristics and unsteady behavior of turbulent separated flows was comprehensively investigated in this study over a microscale backward-facing configuration at the Reynolds number (ReD) of 7440. The computational approach took both compressibility and finite mass transfer (Thermodynamic non-equilibrium) into account, to accurately capture the effects of shock waves, as well as to capture baroclinic phenomena on vortex dynamics within the turbulent separated flow. The compressibility effects were handled by using appropriate equation of states for each phase and for the mixture. Phase-change was considered through a transport equation for the vapor volume fraction, allowing for finite mass transfer contributions. Additionally, a wall adaptive large eddy simulation (LES) approach was utilized for simulating turbulent structures and their effects. The findings reveal that vapor development diminishes the mean growth rate of the shear layer and delays its reattachment to a longer distance from the step. Moreover, analysis of Reynolds normal and shear stresses, as well as the root mean square (RMS) of pressure fluctuations, demonstrates that the formation and collapse of vapor packets significantly influence turbulence decay and production in the second half of the shear layer and reattachment. It was also observed that both mean pressure and pressure fluctuations increased in vicinity of the reattachment region when cavitation was present, which was attributed to the condensation and collapse events. Spectral analysis further indicates the emergence of two dominant low frequency modes, linked to the displacement of the reattachment point. In the presence of cavitation, the frequencies associated with dominant Power Spectral Densities (PSDs) were smaller than those in the absence of cavitation. Additionally, each of these low frequencies corresponded to a specific vapor transport mechanism within the Turbulent Separation Bubble (TSB). Furthermore, it is shown that cavitation leads to a significantly higher spectral energy of high frequency fluctuations within the reattachment region in comparison to the condition where cavitation is absent. This can be attributed to the frequent collapse of bubbles in this region. At the end, we employed Spectral Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (SPOD) for modal analysis. This method offers valuable insights into the coherent structures and associated frequencies that arise in both the presence and absence of cavitation, which provides a deeper understanding of the effect of cavitation on the coherent structures and their dynamics.

Investigation on the effects of an elliptical wall on the dynamic behaviors of a bubble restricted by two parallel plates

The present paper investigates the dynamic behaviors of a bubble restricted by two parallel plates near an elliptical wall. The typical experimental phenomena of the bubble are recorded employing the high-speed photography and a theoretical Kelvin impulse model is established. The impacts of the spatial position and the curvature of the wall on the bubble collapse behaviors are quantitatively investigated through the theoretical model and verified against the experimental results. The Kelvin impulse intensity and the direction during the bubble collapse process are compared and discussed for different elliptical-shaped walls. The main conclusions include: (1) During the bubble collapse process, the phenomenon of the bubble uneven splitting is discovered. (2) At different spatial positions and wall curvatures, the bubble collapse jet angle, movement distance, and velocity are in good agreement with the theoretical Kelvin impulse predictions. (3) As the short-to-long axis ratio increases, the differences in the distributions of the Kelvin impulse intensity and the direction near the elliptical wall gradually become larger, and the range of the influence of the impulse intensity expands.

Wall vortex induced by the collapse of a near-wall cavitation bubble: Influence of the water surface

Wall vortex induced by the collapse of a near-wall cavitation bubble: Influence of the water surface

Study of Orifice Design on Oleo-Pneumatic Shock Absorber

Aircraft oil-strut shock absorbers rely on orifice designs to control fluid flow and optimize damping performance. However, the complex nature of cavitating flows poses significant challenges in predicting the influence of orifice geometry on energy dissipation and system reliability. This study presents a comprehensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of the effects of circular, rectangular, semicircular, and cutback orifice profiles on the internal flow characteristics and damping behavior of oleo-pneumatic shock absorbers. High-fidelity simulations reveal that the rectangular orifice generates higher damping pressures and velocity magnitude than those generated by others designs, while the semicircular shape reduces cavitation inception and exhibits a more gradual pressure recovery. Furthermore, the study highlights the importance of considering both geometric and thermodynamic factors in the design and analysis of cavitating flow systems, as liquid properties and vapor pressure significantly impact bubble growth and collapse behavior. Increasing the orifice length had a negligible impact on damping but moderately raised orifice velocities. This research provides valuable insights for optimizing shock absorber performance across a range of operating conditions, ultimately enhancing vehicle safety and passenger comfort.

Experimental research into the dynamics of underwater explosion bubbles near mutually perpendicular walls

It is of great significance to characterize the dynamics of underwater explosive bubbles in close proximity to mutually perpendicular walls for ensuring the safety of important underwater structures. In this paper, a dynamic experiment on underwater explosion bubbles was carried out near constructed mutually perpendicular walls. High-speed cameras were utilized to capture high-resolution images, while pressure sensors recorded pressure–time history curves. The main focus was on studying the evolution process of bubble morphology and pulse characteristics. When the position of the charge's center relative to the horizontal wall remained fixed, decreasing the distance between the charge's center and the vertical wall resulted in a reduction in the equivalent maximum radius of bubbles and an increase in its pulsation period. Additionally, the asymmetric collapse of bubbles on a single wall transformed into asynchronous collapse on two walls, with most collapsed bubbles tending to migrate and expand toward the corner formed by mutually perpendicular walls. The resulting jet from the collapse of bubbles exhibited deflection toward the vertical wall, with an inclination angle increasing approximately proportionally with dimensionless distance ratio γh/γv. Moreover, it became more difficult for achieving effective focusing of bubble energy as the jet approached the corners formed by mutually perpendicular walls. The experiments also implied that reducing the dead weight of the vertical wall weakened its contact with the horizontal wall, causing an increase in the equivalent maximum radius of bubbles and jet inclination, as well as a decrease in the bubble pulsation period, under the same dimensionless distance γv.

Numerical study of the behavior of a near-wall bubble under the influence of an acoustic wave

Acoustic cavitation has been applied to many ultrasonic fields, but its characteristics are not fully understood, especially near the wall. To analyze the dynamics of a near-wall acoustic bubble, an acoustic pressure wave boundary condition is developed in the OpenFOAM platform. We first conducted the model’s validation with an experiment to prove its accuracy. The bubble’s radius increases when the bubble is excited by the lower-pressure wave, and it decreases under the higher-pressure wave. When the bubble collapses, its pressure and temperature will reach the maximum value. In accordance with the non-dimensional distance, the dynamics of the acoustic-driven bubble are classified into three types, i.e., the liquid jet not touching the nearby wall, the liquid jet touching the wall, and no obvious liquid jet. The maximum value of pressure and temperature increases with the dimensionless distance decreasing if the dimensionless distance is small. However, there is no variation of these peak values with dimensionless distance if the dimensionless distance is large.

Jet Impact During Bubble Collapse Near a Local Bump on a Solid Wall

Jet Impact During Bubble Collapse Near a Local Bump on a Solid Wall

Investigation on laser-induced bubble collapse among triple particles based on high-frame-rate photography and the Kelvin impulse model

In fluid machinery, the concurrent presence of cavitation bubbles and particle clusters leads to considerably damage to material surfaces. This study investigates the dynamics of a bubble situated among triple particles based on the Kelvin impulse model and high-frame-rate photography, focusing on the impact of the dimensionless distance of particles and the bubble size. Specifically, the jet, bubble motion, and bubble interface evolution characteristics are quantitatively evaluated. The following conclusions are obtained: (1) The collapse shapes of the bubble can be divided into three typical cases: equilateral triangle shape, isosceles triangle shape, and arcuate shape. (2) Among the triple particles, four zero-Kelvin-impulse locations are present, around which the jet direction is extremely sensitive to the bubble initial position. As the bubble initial position moves along the central line, the bubble motion direction dramatically changes during its collapse. (3) The relative position of bubble and particles is the key parameter that affects the bubble dynamics. As the bubble–particle distance decreases, the non-uniformity of bubble collapse morphology and the bubble motion distance will become more significant.