Modeling the coupling of reaction kinetics and hydrodynamics in a collapsing cavity

Wall wettability effect on process of collapse of single cavitation bubbles in near-wall region using pseudo-potential lattice Boltzmann method

This study investigates the effect of wall wettability on cavitation collapse based on a large-density-ratio lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) pseudo-potential model. The validity and superiority of the proposed model in simulation of cavitation under complex conditions are confirmed by comparing with theories, experiments, and numerical results by other models. Our simulations indicate that wall wettability has a significant influence on near-wall cavitation of an order no less than the effect of the initial bubble distance. A criterial initial distance exists in near-wall cavitation within which the micro-jet will direct toward the wall. This criterial distance is shown to be positively correlated with the contact angle by a cosine function. Within this distance, the lifetime of the bubble decreases by up to 50%, and the increase of the maximum micro-jet velocity and collapse pressure are up to 131% and 65%, respectively, when the contact angle increases from the hydrophilic 53° to the hydrophobic 113°. Without considering the shock-wave mechanism, the impact pressure transmitted to the hydrophilic wall is of the same order as the maximum collapse pressure while the impact velocity is an order smaller than the maximum micro-jet velocity. Wall wettability affects collapse through the Bjerknes force and the pressure around the bubble. Preliminary analysis also suggests that the relation between the pressure difference and the intensity of collapse exhibits more patterns than we have assumed, which fits a logistic curve well, and appears not changing with the contact angle or the initial bubble distance.

Thermo-chemo-mechanically coupled cavity dynamics and the emergence of multi-phase bursts

Understanding the dynamics induced by confined thermo-chemical processes occurring inside a solid medium is a fundamental problem of interest in several applications, such as hotspot formation and micro-explosions in energetic materials and laser-induced cavitation for energy focusing and material characterization. In recent years, advanced experimental capabilities have uncovered elusive behaviours in such systems, including temperature spikes that emerge at short timescales, and multi-phase explosions. By coupling the mechanics of the solid, the thermodynamics, and the chemical kinetics of the decomposition reactions, the theoretical model developed here explains and demonstrates these phenomena. The dimensionless response of the system is studied numerically and analytical expressions for the mechanical response limits are derived. These results should be useful in guiding future experiments and in explaining phenomena that may emerge at various length and timescales.

A Transport-Phenomena Approach to Model Hydrodynamic Cavitation of Organic Pollutants

Hydrodynamic cavitation (HC) has been extensively studied for the Advanced Oxidation of organic compounds in wastewaters since it physically produces an oxidative environment at ambient conditions. This process is simple and economical since it can be realized through a properly designed restriction in a pipeline, even in retrofit solutions. Several experimental works individuated similar values of the optimal operating conditions, especially with regard to the inlet pressure. Up to now, the available modeling works rely on a single-bubble dynamics (SBD) approach and do not consider the actual process configuration and pollutant transport in proximity to the oxidizing environment. This work describes different experimental results (from this research group and others) and applies a novel mathematical model based on a transport-phenomena approach, able to directly simulate the effect of HC on the pollutant degradation. The novel proposed model is able to reproduce well a large number of experimental data obtained in different conditions, with different apparatus and different molecules, and allows to interconnect both SBD, fluid-dynamics, and physio-chemical variables in order to deeply study the interaction between the transport of pollutants and the reactive environment. This paper includes collection and discussion of several experimental results with the related main process parameters, description of the novel model and validation against the cited experimental results (to explain the effect of the operating pressure), sensitivity analysis, and the performance limit of the HC with the proposed modeling approach.

Study of Cavitation Bubble Collapse near a Wall by the Modified Lattice Boltzmann Method

In this paper, an improved lattice Boltzmann Shan‒Chen model coupled with Carnahan-Starling equation of state (C-S EOS) and the exact differential method (EDM) force scheme is used to simulate the cavitation bubble collapse in the near-wall region. First, the collapse of a single cavitation bubble in the near-wall region was simulated; the results were in good agreement with the physical experiment and the stability of the model was verified. Then the simulated model was used to simulate the collapse of two cavitation bubbles in the near-wall region. The main connection between the two cavitation bubble centre lines and the wall surface had a 45° angle and parallel and the evolution law of cavitation bubbles in the near-wall region is obtained. Finally, the effects of a single cavitation bubble and double cavitation bubble on the wall surface in the near-wall region are compared, which can be used to study the method to reduce the influence of cavitation on solid materials in practical engineering. The cavitation bubble collapse process under a two-dimensional pressure field is visualized, and the flow field is used to describe the morphological changes of cavitation bubble collapse in the near-wall region. The improved lattice Boltzmann Method (LBM) Shan‒Chen model has many advantages in simulating cavitation problems, and will provide a reference for further simulations.

Single-component multiphase lattice Boltzmann simulation of free bubble and crevice heterogeneous cavitation nucleation

This work serves as an important extension of previous work on cavitation simulation [Sukop and Or, Phys. Rev. E 71, 046703 (2005)10.1103/PhysRevE.71.046703]. A modified Shan-Chen single-component multiphase lattice Boltzmann method is used to simulate two different heterogeneous cavitation nucleation mechanisms, the free gas bubble model and the crevice nucleation model. Improvements include the use of a real-gas equation of state, a redefined effective mass function, and the exact difference method forcing scheme. As a result, much larger density ratios, better thermodynamic consistency, and improved numerical accuracy are achieved. In addition, the crevice nucleation model is numerically investigated using the lattice Boltzmann method. The simulations show excellent qualitative and quantitative agreement with the heterogeneous nucleation theories.

Electrochemical investigations of stable cavitation from bubbles generated during reduction of water

Megasonic cleaning is traditionally used for removal of particles from wafer surfaces in semiconductor industry. With the advancement of technology node, the major challenge associated with megasonic cleaning is to be able to achieve high cleaning efficiency without causing damage to fragile features. In this paper, a method based on electrochemistry has been developed that allows controlled formation and growth of a hydrogen bubbles close to a solid surface immersed in an aqueous solution irradiated with ∼1 MHz sound field. It has been shown that significant microstreaming from resonating size bubble can be induced by proper choice of transducer duty cycle. This method has the potential to significantly improve the performance of megasonic cleaning technology through generation of local microstreaming, interfacial and pressure gradient forces in close vicinity of conductive surfaces on wafers without affecting the transient cavitation responsible for feature damage.