Laser ablation of absorbing liquids under transparent cover: acoustical and optical monitoring

Phase transition induced with infrared (λ = 2920 nm and λ = 2940 nm) nanosecond laser pulses in strongly absorbing liquids (water, ethanol) under transparent solid cover is investigated with the help of acoustical and optical monitoring. LiNbO₃ transducer is used for registration of pressure pulses generated in irradiated liquids. Optical signals due to scattering and specular reflection of probing optical beams are explored with the schemes involving total internal reflection and interference effects. Combination of these two optical diagnostic methods permits for the first time to show that irradiation of covered liquids leads to vapor cavity formation which is divided from the cover with thin (submicron) liquid film despite the fact that radiation intensity maximum is located just at the liquid–plate boundary. The cavity formation is due to explosive boiling which occurs when the superheated liquid reaches its superheating limit in near critical region. After the first acoustical signal, the second signal is observed with several hundreds microseconds time delay which is caused by the vapor cavity collapse. Some results of optical and acoustical diagnostics in the case of free liquid surface are also presented.     

Optical breakdown in a liquid: The slow phase of the dynamics of cavity collapse and a noncontact technique for pressure measurement in a liquid

It is demonstrated that, in the case of optically probing the breakdown region, a pulsed signal is formed due to the acoustic pulses produced by the breakdown and collapse of the cavitation cavity. The measured dependence of the delay time of the second pulse on the hydrostatic pressure in the liquid and the pressure of saturated vapor agrees well with the theoretical dependence corresponding to the hydrodynamic model of the cavity. On the basis of the optical cavitation effect, a technique is proposed for a noncontact measurement of hydrostatic pressure in a liquid enclosed in a sealed cell. The range of applicability of the technique is evaluated.     

Properties of sound attenuation around a two-dimensional underwater vehicle with a large cavitation number

Due to the high speed of underwater vehicles,cavitation is generated inevitably along with the sound attenuation when the sound signal traverses through the cavity region around the underwater vehicle.The linear wave propagation is studied to obtain the influence of bubbly liquid on the acoustic wave propagation in the cavity region.The sound attenuation coefficient and the sound speed formula of the bubbly liquid are presented.Based on the sound attenuation coefficients with various vapor volume fractions,the attenuation of sound intensity is calculated under large cavitation number conditions.The result shows that the sound intensity attenuation is fairly small in a certain condition.Consequently,the intensity attenuation can be neglected in engineering.     

Orientation phenomena in nematic liquid crystals under a periodic compressional deformation

The orientation behavior of homogeneous planar layers of nematic liquid crystals with open and closed ends in the field of compressional deformations caused by an acoustic effect is studied. The mechanisms determining the connection of the optical response of a nematic liquid crystal (the variable component of an optical signal and its spectrum) with the acoustic parameters (the oscillation amplitude and frequency, and the amplitude of sound pressure) and the layer thickness are revealed. The factors responsible for the mechanism and modes of acoustooptic conversion are considered. It is demonstrated that, by varying the layer thickness, it is possible to implement different modes of signal conversion. The possibility of designing a new modification of a sound receiver based on a nematic liquid crystal and the specific features of this design are discussed. Its advantages over conventional sound pressure receivers based on nematic liquid crystals are indicated, in particular, the absence of limitation of the frequency of the received signal in the low-frequency range.     

基于界面跟踪方法的汽蚀模型和算法的有效性验证

针对两相附着汽蚀流动机理,基于界面跟踪方法发展了新的汽蚀模型和算法。所发展的汽蚀模型和算法不仅考虑了液相／气相界面处的压力差,而且考虑了耦合Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes方程求解技术得到的流场压力梯度信息来迭代计算附着汽蚀形状。采用具有试验数据的半球形头部圆柱体汽蚀绕流作为算例来验证所提出的汽蚀模型和算法的有效性。采用不同的网格数和松弛因子数值验证了发展的汽蚀模型和算法的有效性。三种汽蚀数下的数值计算结果得到的压力系数分布与试验数据完全吻合。结果表明所提出的汽蚀模型和算法能够准确模拟出汽蚀发生点和汽蚀长度。     

基于汽相/液相界面跟踪方法的弯管内空化流动的数值预测

采用发展的基于Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes方程和液相/气相界面跟踪方法的单相空化模型和数值迭代算法,数值预测了二维弯管内空化卒泡的形状和相应的压力系数分布.将发展的二维空化模型和算法推广到i维空化流动的数值模拟,预测了三维非对称弯管内的三维空泡形状和流动特性.数值预测三维非对称弯管内空化流动时的卒泡位置和相应压力系数分布符合理论分析结论.研究结果证明了所发展的空化模型和算法能够应用于三维空化流动时的数值预测.     

Implosion of an underwater spark-generated bubble and acoustic energy evaluation using the Rayleigh model

The growth, collapse, and rebound of a vapor bubble generated by an underwater spark is studied by means of high-speed cinematography, simultaneously acquiring the emitted acoustic signature. Video recordings show that the growth and collapse phases are nearly symmetrical during the first two or three cycles, the bubble shape being approximately spherical. After 2-3 cycles the bubble behavior changes from a collapsing/rebounding regime with sound-emitting implosions to a pulsating regime with no implosions. The motion of the bubble wall during the first collapses was found to be consistent with the Rayleigh model of a cavity in an incompressible liquid, with the inclusion of a vapor pressure term at constant temperature within each bubble cycle. An estimate of the pressure inside the bubble is obtained measuring the collapse time and maximum radius, and the amount of energy converted into acoustical energy upon each implosion is deduced. The resulting value of acoustic efficiency was found to be in agreement with measurements based on the emitted acoustic pulse.     

Generation of acoustic waves by cw laser radiation at the tip of an optical fiber in water

We investigate the specific features of acoustic signals generated in water under the action of cw laser radiation with a power of 3 W at wavelengths of 0.97, 1.56, and 1.9 μm, emerging from an optical fiber. It is established that when a fiber tip without an absorbing coating is used, quasi-periodic pulse signals are generated according to the thermocavitation mechanism due to the formation and collapse of vapor–gas bubbles of millimeter size. In this case, the maximum energy of a broadband (up to 10 MHz) acoustic signal generated only at wavelengths of 1.56 and 1.9 μm is concentrated in the range of 4–20 kHz. It is shown that when there is no absorbing coating, an increase in the laser-radiation absorption coefficient in water leads to an increase in the frequency of generated acoustic pulses, while the maximum pressure amplitudes in them remain virtually constant. If there is an absorbing coating on the laser-fiber tip, a large number of small vapor–gas bubbles are generated at all laser-radiation wavelengths used. This leads to the appearance of a continuous amplitude-modulated acoustic signal, whose main energy is concentrated in the range of 8–15 kHz. It is shown that in this case, increasing the absorption coefficient of laser radiation in water leads to an increase in the power of an acoustic emission signal. The results can be used to explain the high therapeutic efficiency of moderate-power laser-fiber apparatus.     

Generation of Laser Light via Ultrasonic Four-wave Mixing

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Generation of Laser Light via Ultrasonic Four-wave Mixing

On the basis of the interaction between phonons in ionic crystals with anharmonic lattice vibration, we present a laser model on acoustic nondegenerate four-wave mixing. Two beams of highfrequency ultrasound, incident on the acoustic cavity fulfilled with the medium of ionic crystal, play the role of pumping and one of the two side-band modes of the pumping frequency as an acoustic signal mode has a strong interaction with the optical cavity mode, the coupling-out of which wiIl be the light (far-infrared) output of a laser. The problem is treated with quantum-mechanics. The theory shows that there is the threshold phenomenon as usual lasers and a so called "phase-matching" condition is derived, which should be satisfied for stability of the system.     

Frequency-stable operation of a diode-pumped continuous-wave RbTiOAsO(4) optical parametric oscillator

Frequency-stable operation of a diode-pumped continuous-wave optical parametric oscillator (OPO) of RbTiOAsO(4) is demonstrated. Piezoelectric and fast electro-optic control of the optical length of the two-mirror OPO cavity (resonant for the pump and the idler waves) compensates for thermal changes in the refractive index of the OPO crystal (induced by absorption of pump light) and acoustic perturbations of the cavity length. Pumped by 405mW of the 810-nm output of a GaAlAs masterf-oscillator-tapered-amplifier diode laser system, the OPO generates a power-stable single-frequency signal wave at 1.24microm with an output of 84mW and a spectral bandwidth of less than 10MHz.     

An axisymmetric hypersingular boundary integral formulation for simulating acoustic wave propagation in supercavitating flows

Flow supercavitation begins when fluid is accelerated over a sharp edge, usually at the nose of an underwater vehicle, where a phase change occurs and causes a low density gaseous cavity to gradually envelop the whole object (supercavity) thereby allowing for higher speeds of underwater vehicles. The supercavity may be maintained through ventilated cavitation caused by injection of gases into the cavity, which causes fluctuations at the vapor–water interface. A major issue that concerns the efficient operation of an underwater object’s guidance system (which is achieved by high frequency acoustic sensors mounted within the nose region), is the hydrodynamic noise produced due to the fluctuating vapor–water interface. It is important to carry out a detailed study on the effect of self-noise at the vehicle’s nose that is generated by the ventilating gas jet impingement on the supercavity wall. For this purpose, the present study uses a boundary element method which is more versatile compared to other numerical techniques such as the finite element/finite difference methods. The variation of acoustic pressure at the vehicle nose for various shapes of cavitators, boundary conditions and jet impact diameters are presented. Comparisons are made with the semi-analytical procedure of Howe et al. (Howe et al., On self-noise at the nose of a supercavitating vehicle. Journal of Sound and Vibration, 322 (2009a), 772–784) and finite element based COMSOL commercial package. Several issues pertaining to the behaviour of analytical and numerical results are highlighted. Finally, the proposed boundary element technique is used to study arbitrary shapes of supercavities which may encountered at various stages of supercavity development.     

The effect of cavity geometry on the nucleation of bubbles from cavities

The heterogeneous nucleation of gas bubbles from cavities in a surface in contact with a liquid is a widely recognized phenomenon. This process has previously been theoretically analyzed extensively for a conical crevice, although in practice a wide range of cavity geometries might be expected. The method of analysis originally presented by Atchley and Prosperetti [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 86, 1065-1084 (1989)] for the unstable growth of a gas-liquid interface in a conical crevice is here extended to any axisymmetric cavity geometry and four such different geometries are analyzed. Although the method presented neglects gas transfer, and therefore is most directly suitable for acoustic cavitations, this method is still valuable in comparing the nucleation behavior of different cavity types. It is found that once the interface has emerged outside the cavity, its behavior is determined by the size of the cavity's opening. Given that the behavior of the interface once it is outside the cavity will also be determined by the local flow conditions, the threshold for unstable growth of the interface inside the cavity leading to its emergence is the important value and will determine differences between cavity geometries in practice, as shown in the examples presented.     

Towards the automation of micron-sized particle handling by use of acoustic manipulation assisted by microfluidics

The use of acoustic radiation forces for the manipulation and positioning of micrometer sized particles has shown to be a promising approach. Resonant excitation of a system containing a particle laden fluid filled cavity, can (depending on the mode excited) result in positioning of the particles in parallel lines (1-D) or distinct clumps in a grid formation (2-D) due to the high amplitude standing pressure fields that arise in the fluid. In a broader context, the alignment of particles using acoustic forces can be used to assist manipulation processes which utilise an external mechanical tool, for instance a microgripper. In such a system, particles can be removed sequentially from a line formed by acoustic forces within a microfluidic channel, hence allowing a degree of automation. In order to fully automate the gripping process, the particles must be confined to a repeatable and accurate location in two dimensions (assuming that in the third dimension they sit on the lower surface of the channel). Only in this way it is possible to remove subsequent particles by simply bringing the gripper to a known location and activating its fingers. This combined use of acoustic forces and mechanical gripping requires that one extremity of the channel is open. However, the presence of the liquid-air interface which occurs at this opening, causes the standing pressure field to decay to zero towards the opening. In a volume of liquid in proximity to the interface positioning of particles by acoustic forces is therefore no longer possible. In addition, the longitudinal gradient of the field can cause a drift of particles towards the longitudinal center of the channel at some frequencies, undesirably moving them further away from the interface, and so further from the gripper. As a solution the use of microfluidic flow induced drag forces in addition to the acoustic force potential has been investigated.     

QCM based sensor for detecting volumetric properties of liquids

We introduce a microacoustic sensor, which combines the quartz crystal microbalance, a liquid-filled cavity and an intermediate artificial layer with effective acoustic properties. Each of the three components fulfils a specific task. The quartz vibrates in its thickness shear mode and acts as source and detector of shear waves, which penetrate the intermediate artificial layer and excite a resonance in the liquid-filled cavity. Both the piezoelectric transducer and the liquid-filled cavity are high-Q resonators with well-adjusted resonance frequencies very close to each other. The intermediate artificial layer couples the two resonators in a distinct manner via control of the propagation of acoustic waves between the quartz crystal and the liquid-filled cavity layer. The origin of the sensor signal is a change of the resonance frequency of the liquid-filled cavity caused by variations of acoustic properties of the liquid analyte inside the cavity, first of all speed of sound. This resonance appears as second resonance peak in the admittance spectrum of the quartz crystal.     

Numerical Simulation of Vapor Bubble Growth and Heat Transfer in a Thin Liquid Film

A mathematical model is developed to investigate the dynamics of vapor bubble growth in a thin fiquid film, movement of the interface between two fluids and the surface heat transfer characteristics. The model takes into account the effects of phase change between the vapor and liquid, gravity, surface tension and viscosity. The details of the multiphase flow and heat transfer are discussed for two cases： （1） when a water micro-droplet impacts a thin liquid film with a vapor bubble growing and （2） when the vapor bubble grows and merges with the vapor layer above the liquid film without the droplet impacting. The development trend of the interface between the vapor and liquid is coincident qualitatively with the available literature, mostly at the first stage. We also provide an important method to better understand the mechanism of nucleate spray cooling.     

A single external cavity laser-based sensor for simultaneous detection and quantification of atmospheric methane and water vapor

A single external cavity diode laser (ECDL)-based sensor system was developed for simultaneous measurements of methane and water vapor in the atmospheric air. A home-made continuous wave (CW) ECDL with a wavelength of \(\sim\) 1325 nm was employed to cover two absorption lines for different gas species. A high-finesse optical cavity composed of two high-reflectivity mirrors (\(R=0.99927\)) was used to enhance the gas absorption in a space of 0.5 l. An isolated methane absorption line at \(7552.74 \hbox { cm}^{-1}\) and a common (non-isolated) absorption line of water vapor and methane \(7552.81\hbox {cm}^{-1}\) were utilized for simultaneous detection. A method was developed to calculate the water vapor concentration from these lines. To our knowledge, the method and the absorption lines used in the present paper were used for the first time for simultaneous measurement of the concentrations of atmospheric methane and water vapor.     

Stimulated Raman Scattering at Induced Acoustic Vibrations of Elastic Particles in Suspensions Placed in an Optical Cavity

The stimulated low-frequency Raman scattering at acoustic vibrations of elastic inclusions in a liquid heterogeneous medium placed in an external open optical cavity has been investigated. The amplitudes of stationary field oscillations in the cavity at the frequencies of the excitation and the first Stokes component are found within a two-dimensional model. The specific features of the oscillation in dependence of the parameters of the cavity and Raman-active medium have been studied based on the simulation results.     

Acousto-optic diffraction at liquid-solid interface with light incident at critical angle

A new acousto-optic diffraction configuration is described. At a liquid-solid interface, a light beam is incident from the solid side of higher refractive index. The maximum acousto-optic diffraction of the Raman-Nath type occurs in the liquid with light incident at the critical angle. The angular dependence of the diffraction efficiency indicates accurate optical alignment requirement. Application to acoustic imaging is briefly discussed.     

Push-pull laser-atomic oscillator

A vapor of alkali-metal atoms in the external cavity of a semiconductor laser, pumped with a time-independent injection current, can cause the laser to self-modulate at the "field-independent 0-0 frequency" of the atoms. Push-pull optical pumping by the modulated light drives most of the atoms into a coherent superposition of the two atomic sublevels with an azimuthal quantum number m=0. The atoms modulate the optical loss of the cavity at the sharply defined 0-0 hyperfine frequency. As in a maser, the system is not driven by an external source of microwaves, but a very stable microwave signal can be recovered from the modulated light or from the modulated voltage drop across the laser diode. Potential applications for this new phenomenon include atomic clocks, the production of long-lived coherent atomic states, and the generation of coherent optical combs.