What is it about?

Vapour bubbles form in water when it is suddenly exposed to strong tensile stress. Small gaseous nuclei on the surface of particles present in the water are the origin of the bubbles, and the initial bubble growth makes the particle move away from the bubble at high speed. This is shown experimentally, and it is explained theoretically, hereby revealing a source of cavitation bubbles in water.

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Why is it important?

Often cavitation is a serious problem in hydrodynamic flows, but it also has valuable applications. Therefore it is important to know why and how it arises.

Perspectives

The particle motion generated by cavitation in water may explain wear - and it may be useful for medical application in drug delivery.

Dr Knud Aage Mørch
Danmarks Tekniske Universitet

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: The acceleration of solid particles subjected to cavitation nucleation, Journal of Fluid Mechanics, August 2008, Cambridge University Press,
DOI: 10.1017/s002211200800253x.
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