Parametric Analysis for a Single Collapsing Bubble

Abstract

This work presents a sensitivity analysis for cavitation processes, studying in detail the effect of various model parameters on the bubble collapse. A complete model (Hauke et al. Phys Rev E 75:1-14, 2007) is used to obtain how different parameters influence the collapse in SBSL experiments, providing some clues on how to enhance the bubble implosion in real systems. The initial bubble radius, the frequency and the amplitude of the pressure wave are the most important parameters determining under which conditions cavitation occurs. The range of bubble sizes inducing strong implosions for different frequencies is computed; the initial radius is the most important parameter characterized the intensity of the cavitation processes. However, other parameters like the gas and liquid conductivity or the liquid viscosity can have an important effect under certain conditions. It is shown that mass transfer processes play an important role in order to correctly predict the trends related with the effect of the liquid temperature, which translates into the bubble dynamics. Moreover, under some particular circumstances, evaporation can be encountered during the bubble collapse; this can be profitably exploited in order to feed reactants when the most extreme conditions inside the bubbles are reached. Thus, this paper aims at providing a global assessment of the effect of the different parameters on the entire cycle of a single cavitating spherical bubble immersed in an ultrasonic field.

A Review of Models for Bubble Clusters in Cavitating Flows

“…Even when vapor mass diffusion controls the overall collapse processes numerical studies have shown that the kinetics of phase change influence the dynamics of vapor bubbles [91] and the violence of the collapse generated [73]. Parametric studies based on a complete one-dimensional model accounting for mass transfer effects reveal that the dependency of the peak temperatures reached during the bubble collapse on the ambient temperature is directly linked to the mass transfer model [72], revealing the intricate mechanisms between the process of phase change and the collapse process of a gas/vapor bubble.…”