Experimental investigation of the collapse of laser-generated cavitation bubbles near a solid boundary

The oscillation of a laser-generated single cavitation bubble near a solid boundary is investigated by a fiber-optic diagnostic technique based on optical beam deflection (OBD). The maximum bubble radii and collapse time for each oscillation cycle are determined from a sequence of bubble oscillations. Furthermore, by combining the revised Rayleigh theory, the prolongation factor κ at different dimensionless parameter γ (γ=L/R_max, where R_max is the maximum bubble radius and L is the distance of a cavity inception point from a boundary) is obtained. In addition, the prolongation factor of the collapse time versus laser energy is also derived, which are valuable in the fields of hydraulic cavitation, laser lithotripsy and laser ophthalmology.