Numerical study on the desorption processes of oil droplets inside oil-contaminated sand under cavitation micro-jets

The removal of the adsorbed oil droplet is critical to deoiling treatment of oil-bearing solid waste. Ultrasonic cavitation is regarded as an extremely useful method to assist the oil droplets desorption in the deoiling treatment. In this paper, the effects of cavitation micro-jets on the oil droplets desorption were studied. The adsorbed states of oil droplets in the oil-contaminated sand were investigated using a microscope. Three representative absorbed states of the oil droplets can be summarized as: (1) the individual oil droplet adsorbed on the particle surface (2) the clustered oil droplets adsorbed on the particle surface; (3) the oil droplet adsorbed in a gap between particles. The micro-jet generation during the bubble collapse near a rigid wall under different acoustic pressure amplitudes at an ultrasonic frequency of 20 kHz was investigated numerically. The desorption processes of the oil droplets at the three representative absorbed states under micro-jets were also simulated subsequently. The results showed that the acoustic pressure has a great influence on the velocity of micro-jet, and the initial diameter of cavitation bubbles is significant for the cross-sectional area of micro-jets. The wall jet caused by a micro-jet impacting on the solid wall is the most important factor for the removal of the absorbed oil droplets. The oil droplet is broken by the jet impinging, and then it breaks away from the solid wall due to the shear force generated by the wall jet. In addition to a higher sound pressure, the cavitation bubble at a larger initial diameter is more important for the desorption of the clustered oil droplets. Conversely, the micro-jet generated by the cavitation bubble at a smaller initial diameter (0.1 mm) is more appropriate for the desorption of the oil droplet in a narrow or sharp-angled gap.     

Interaction behaviors at the interface between liquid Al–Si and solid Ti–6Al–4V in ultrasonic-assisted brazing in air

Power ultrasonic vibration (20 kHz, 6 μm) was applied to assist the interaction between a liquid Al–Si alloy and solid Ti–6Al–4V substrate in air. The interaction behaviors, including breakage of the oxide film on the Ti–6Al–4V surface, chemical dissolution of solid Ti–6Al–4V, and interfacial chemical reactions, were investigated. Experimental results showed that numerous 2–20 μm diameter-sized pits formed on the Ti–6Al–4V surface. Propagation of ultrasonic waves in the liquid Al–Si alloy resulted in ultrasonic cavitation. When this cavitation occurred at or near the liquid/solid interface, many complex effects were generated at the small zones during the bubble implosion, including micro-jets, hot spots, and acoustic streaming. The breakage behavior of oxide films on the solid Ti–6Al–4V substrate, excessive chemical dissolution of solid Ti–6Al–4V into liquid Al–Si, abnormal interfacial chemical reactions at the interface, and phase transformation between the intermetallic compounds could be wholly ascribed to these ultrasonic effects. An effective bond between Al–Si and Ti–6Al–4V can be produced by ultrasonic-assisted brazing in air.     

On the governing fragmentation mechanism of primary intermetallics by induced cavitation

One of the main applications of ultrasonic melt treatment is the grain refinement of aluminium alloys. Among several suggested mechanisms, the fragmentation of primary intermetallics by acoustic cavitation is regarded as very efficient. However, the physical process causing this fragmentation has received little attention and is not yet well understood. In this study, we evaluate the mechanical properties of primary Al₃Zr intermetallics by nano-indentation experiments and correlate those with in-situ high-speed imaging (of up to 1 Mfps) of their fragmentation process by laser-induced cavitation (single bubble) and by acoustic cavitation (cloud of bubbles) in water. Intermetallic crystals were chemically extracted from an Al-3 wt% Zr alloy matrix. Mechanical properties such as hardness, elastic modulus and fracture toughness of the extracted intermetallics were determined using a geometrically fixed Berkovich nano-diamond and cube corner indenter, under ambient temperature conditions. The studied crystals were then exposed to the two cavitation conditions mentioned. Results demonstrated for the first time that the governing fragmentation mechanism of the studied intermetallics was due to the emitted shock waves from the collapsing bubbles. The fragmentation caused by a single bubble collapse was found to be almost instantaneous. On the other hand, sono-fragmentation studies revealed that the intermetallic crystal initially underwent low cycle fatigue loading, followed by catastrophic brittle failure due to propagating shock waves. The observed fragmentation mechanism was supported by fracture mechanics and pressure measurements using a calibrated fibre optic hydrophone. Results showed that the acoustic pressures produced from shock wave emissions in the case of a single bubble collapse, and responsible for instantaneous fragmentation of the intermetallics, were in the range of 20–40 MPa. Whereas, the shock pressure generated from the acoustic cavitation cloud collapses surged up to 1.6 MPa inducing fatigue stresses within the crystal leading to eventual fragmentation.     

Analysis of the effect of impact of near-wall acoustic bubble collapse micro-jet on Al 1060

The bubble collapse near a wall will generate strong micro-jet in a liquid environment under ultrasonic field. To explore the effect of the impact of near-wall acoustic bubble collapse micro-jet on an aluminum 1060 sheet, the cavitation threshold formula and micro-jet velocity formula were first proposed. Then the Johnson-Cook rate correlation material constitutive model was considered, and a three-dimensional fluid-solid coupling model of micro-jet impact on a wall was established and analyzed. Finally, to validate the model, ultrasonic cavitation test and inversion analysis based on the theory of spherical indentation test were conducted. The results show that cavitation occurs significantly in the liquid under ultrasonic field, as the applied ultrasonic pressure amplitude is much larger than liquid cavitation threshold. Micro pits appear on the material surface under the impact of micro-jet. Pit depth is determined by both micro-jet velocity and micro-jet diameter, and increases with their increase. Pit diameter is mainly related to the micro-jet diameter and d_p/d_j ≈ 0.95–1.2, while pit’s diameter-to-depth ratio is mainly negatively correlated with the micro-jet velocity. Wall pressure distribution is mostly symmetric and its maximum appears on the edge of micro-jet impingement. Obviously, the greater the micro-jet velocity is, the greater the wall pressure is. Micro pits formed after the impact of micro-jet on aluminum 1060 surface were assessed by ultrasonic cavitation test. Inversion analysis results indicate that equivalent stress, equivalent strain of the pit and impact strength, and velocity of the micro-jet are closely related with pit’s diameter-to-depth ratio. For the pit’s diameter-to-depth ratio of 16–68, the corresponding micro-jet velocity calculated is 310–370 m/s.     

Effect of cavitation bubble on the dispersion of magnetorheological polishing fluid under ultrasonic preparation

In the ultrasonic dispersion process, the ultrasonic cavitation effect can seriously affect the dispersion efficiency of magnetorheological polishing fluid (MRPF), but the mechanism remains unclear now. Through considering the continuity equation and Vand viscosity equation of the suspension, a revised cavitation bubble dynamic model in the MRPF was developed and calculated. The effects of presence or absence of solid particles, the volume fraction of solid particles, and viscosity on the cavitation bubble motion characteristics in the MRPF were discussed. Settlement experiments of the MRPF under ultrasonic and mechanical dispersion were observed. Analysis of particle dispersion is made by trinocular biomicroscope and image processing of the microscopic morphology of the MRPF. The results show that the high volume fraction of carbonyl iron particle (CIP) will significantly weaken the cavitation effect, and the low volume fraction of green silicon carbide (GSC) has a negligible effect on the cavitation effect in the MRPF. When the liquid viscosity is greater than or equal to 0.1 Pa·s, it is inconvenient to produce micro-jets in the MRPF. The sedimentation rate of the MRPF prepared by ultrasonic dispersion is lower than mechanical dispersion when the volume fraction of CIP is between 1% and 25%. The dispersion ratio under ultrasonic dispersion is lower than that under mechanical dispersion. The experimental results fit the simulation well. It offers a theoretical basis for exploring the ultrasonic cavitation effect in the industrial application of the MRPF.     

超声场下刚性界面附近溃灭空化气泡的速度分析

为了揭示刚性界面附近气泡空化参数与微射流的相互关系, 从两气泡控制方程出发, 利用镜像原理, 建立了考虑刚性壁面作用的空化泡动力学模型. 数值对比了刚性界面与自由界面下气泡的运动特性, 并分析了气泡初始半径、气泡到固壁面的距离、声压幅值和超声频率对气泡溃灭的影响. 在此基础上, 建立了气泡溃灭速度和微射流的相互关系. 结果表明: 刚性界面对气泡振动主要起到抑制作用; 气泡溃灭的剧烈程度随气泡初始半径和超声频率的增加而降低, 随着气泡到固壁面距离的增加而增加; 声压幅值存在最优值, 固壁面附近的气泡在该最优值下气泡溃灭最为剧烈; 通过研究气泡溃灭速度和微射流的关系发现, 调节气泡溃灭速度可以达到间接控制微射流的目的.     

Quantitative evaluation of the microjet velocity and cavitation erosion on a copper plate produced by a spherical cavity focused transducer at the high hydrostatic pressure

Cavitation erosion at the high hydrostatic pressure causes the equipment to operate abnormally for the huge economic losses. Few methods can quantitatively evaluate the cavitation erosion intensity. In order to solve this problem, the cavitation erosion on a copper plate was carried out in a spherical cavity focused transducer system at the hydrostatic pressure of 3, 6, and 10 MPa. Meanwhile, the corresponding cavitation threshold, the initial bubble radius, and the microjet velocity in the ultrasonic field are theoretically analyzed to determine the dimension and velocity of microjet based on the following hypotheses: (1) the influence of the coalescence on the bubble collapse is ignored; (2) the dimension of the microjet is equal to the largest bubble size without the influence of gravity and buoyancy. Using the Westervelt equation for the nonlinear wave propagation and the Johnson-Cook material constitutive model for the high strain rate, a microjet impact model of the multi-bubble cavitation was constructed. In addition, through the analogy with the indentation test, an inversion model was proposed to calculate the microjet velocity and the cavitation erosion intensity. The microjet geometric model was constructed from the dimension and velocity of the microjet. The continuous microjet impact was proposed according to the equivalent impact momentum and solved by the finite element method. The relative errors of the pit depth are 4.02%, 3.34%, and 1.84% at the hydrostatic pressure of 3, 6, and 10 MPa, respectively, and the relative error in the evolution of pit morphology is 7.33% at 10 MPa, which verified the reliability of the proposed models. Experimental and simulation results show that the higher the hydrostatic pressure, the greater the pit depth, pit diameter, the pit-to-microjet diameter ratio, and the cavitation erosion intensity, but the smaller the pit diameter-to-depth ratio. The cavitation erosion intensity becomes significant with the ongoing ultrasonic exposure. In addition, a comparison of the cavitation pit morphology in the microjet pulsed and continuous impact modes shows that the continuous impact mode is effective without the elastic deformation caused by the residual stress. Using the cavitation pit morphology at the different hydrostatic pressures, the microjet velocity can be estimated successfully and accurately in a certain range, whose corresponding errors at the lower and upper limit are 5.98% and 0.11% at 3 MPa, 6.62% and 9.14% at 6 MPa, 6.54% and 5.42% at 10 MPa, respectively. Our proposed models are valid only when the cavitation pit diameter-to-depth ratio is close to 1. Altogether, the cavitation erosion induced by multi-bubble collapses in the focal region of a focused transducer could be evaluated both experimentally and numerically. Using the cavitation pit morphology and the inversion model, the microjet velocity in a certain range could be estimated successfully with satisfactory accuracy.     

The influence of pressure on the acoustic cavitation in saturated CO2-expanded N,N-dimethylformamide

CO₂-expanded organic solvent is a kind of important fluid medium and has broad applications in chemical industry, environmental protection and other fields. Ultrasonic cavitation in gas expanded liquids (GXLs) is conducive to enhancing mass transfer and producing many exciting phenomena. In this paper, the ultrasonic cavitations and streaming in the saturated CO₂-expanded liquid N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) at 4.2 MPa and 5.2 MPa are observed by a high-speed camera. The cavitation intensity and time trace of pressure pulses are recorded using a PZT hydrophone. The influences of gas–liquid equilibrium pressure and ultrasonic power on the cluster dynamics of transient and stable cavitation are examined. The excess molar enthalpies required for CO₂ dissociation from DMF are calculated by Peng-Robinson equations of state and the change of surface free energy of CO₂-expanded DMF is predicted. The results show that the excess enthalpy of the mixture is one of the key factors to control ultrasonic cavitation at high pressurized conditions, while the surface tension is the key factor for low pressure. As the increase of applied ultrasonic power, the formation and collapsing frequency of bubble clusters increases, and the amplitude and cyclic frequency of pressure pulse are enhanced. The transient cavitation intensity increases as it reaches a maximum value at a certain ultrasonic power and then decreases. The change trends of stable cavitation intensity under different pressures are basically same. It can be concluded from the evidence that ultrasonic cavitation in CO₂-expanded DMF is affected by the combined effect of compression and substitution: compression depresses the nucleation and growth of bubbles, while the high solubility of CO₂ in DMF is conducive to the generation of bubbles in cavitation.     

Classification of regimes determining ultrasonic cavitation erosion in solid particle suspensions

Although the factors that influence ultrasonic cavitation erosion in solid particle suspensions have been extensively studied, the role that solid particles play in the cavitation process remains poorly understood. The ultrasonic cavitation erosion of AISI 1045 carbon steel was studied in the presence of monodisperse silica particles (10–100 μm, 0.5–20 vol%) suspended in transformer oil. Based on our results, we propose an overview of the possible influencing mechanisms of particle addition for specific particle sizes and concentrations. Four major regimes, namely a viscosity-enhancing regime (V), a particle-impinging regime (I), a particle-shielding regime (S), and a nuclei-adding regime (A) are identified, and their dependence on suspended particle characteristics is analyzed. The VISA regimes, in essence, reflect the viscous and inertial effects of suspended particles, and the way in which particle–particle interactions and heterogeneous nucleation affect erosion. This regime-based framework provides a better understanding of the dominant factors controlling the erosive wear caused by cavitation in the presence of solid particles, and provides a guide for erosion prediction and prevention.     

Effect of ultrasonic standing waves on flotation bubbles

Ultrasonic flotation was an effective method to float fine coal. In this study, the effects of the standing waves with different frequencies on ultrasonic flotation were investigated. The dynamic processes of bubble and coal-bubble were revealed by a high-speed camera. The results showed that under the action of Bjerknes force, bubble aggregates were formed within 450 ms and coal bubble aggregates were formed within 20 ms. The bubble aggregates were statistically analyzed by image processing method. The number of aggregates and small bubbles in the ultrasonic field at 100 kHz was greater than those at 80 and 120 kHz. Besides, 100 kHz ultrasonic flotation achieved the highest yields of clean coal (35.89%) and combustible recovery (45.77%). The cavitation bubbles acted as either a “medium” or an “inclusion”, entrapping and entraining the coal particles in the flotation pulp. It promoted the aggregation of bubbles with coal particles, so the flotation efficiency was effectively improved in the presence of ultrasonic standing waves.     

Acoustic noise spectra under hydrothermal conditions

Acoustic noise spectra were studied for the first time in overheated water using sonohydrothermal reactor operating at 20 kHz ultrasound in the temperature range from 25 to 200 °C at the autogenic pressure of 1–14 bar. The obtained results highlighted a dominating role of stable cavitation during ultrasonic treatment of hot water. Heating of sonicated water results in the formation of large number of nonlinearly oscillating bubbles synchronous with the driving frequency. At 200 °C, the acoustic spectra also display strong subharmonic and multiple ultraharmonic bands. Moreover, cavitation bubbles formed at 200 °C exhibit chaotic and random motions. It has been shown that the addition of TiO₂ nanoparticles to hydrothermal water heated at 200 °C allows to eliminate subharmonic/ultraharmonic bands and stochastic oscillations as well. This effect was assigned to Pickering-like bubble stabilization due to the particle accumulation at the bubble surface.     

Enhancement of catalytic activity in NH3-SCR reaction by promoting dispersibility of CuCe/TiO2-ZrO2 with ultrasonic treatment

A series of CuCe-modified TiO₂-ZrO₂ catalysts synthesized by stepwise impregnation method and ultrasonic-assisted impregnation method were investigated to research the removal of NO in the simulated flue gas. Results showed that the CuCe/TiO₂-ZrO₂ catalyst prepared by ultrasonic-assisted impregnation method exhibited the superior NO conversion, in which higher than 85% NO was degraded at the temperature range of 250–400 °C and the highest NO conversion of 94% at 350 °C. It proves that ultrasonic treatment can markedly improve the performance of catalysts. The effect of ultrasonic enhancement on CuCe/TiO₂-ZrO₂ was comprehensively studied through being characterized by physicochemical characterization. Results reveal that the ultrasonic cavitation effect improves the distribution of active species and the synergistic interaction between Cu with Ce components (Cu⁺ + Ce⁴⁺ ↔ Cu²⁺ + Ce³⁺) on the catalysts significantly, thus resulting in better dispersibility as well as a higher ratio of Cu²⁺ and Ce³⁺ of the catalysts. Moreover, it was found that the CuCe/TiO₂-ZrO₂ catalyst prepared by the ultrasonic-assisted impregnation method represented a higher degree of ultrafine metal particles and evenness. The above results were described with the generalized dimension and singularity spectra in multifractal analysis and validated by the comparative test. Therefore, it can be concluded that ultrasonic treatment facilitates the particle size and distribution of active sites on the catalysts.     

In-situ observations and acoustic measurements upon fragmentation of free-floating intermetallics under ultrasonic cavitation in water

Grain refinement in alloys is a well-known effect of ultrasonic melt processing. Fragmentation of primary crystals by cavitation-induced action in liquid metals is considered as one of the main driving mechanisms for producing finer and equiaxed grain structures. However, in-situ observations of the fragmentation process are generally complex and difficult to follow in opaque liquid metals, especially for the free-floating crystals. In the present study, we develop a transparent test rig to observe in real time the fragmentation potential of free-floating primary Al₃Zr particles under ultrasonic excitation in water (an established analogue medium to liquid aluminium for cavitation studies). An effective treatment domain was identified and fragmentation time determined using acoustic pressure field mapping. For the first time, real-time high-speed imaging captured the dynamic interaction of shock waves from the collapsing bubbles with floating intermetallic particles that led to their fragmentation. The breakage sequence as well as the cavitation erosion pattern were studied by means of post-treatment microscopic characterisation of the fragments. Fragment size distribution and crack patterns on the fractured surface were then analysed and quantified. Application of ultrasound is shown to rapidly (<10 s) reduce intermetallic size (from 5 mm down to 10 μm), thereby increasing the number of potential nucleation sites for the grain refinement of aluminium alloys during melt treatment.     

Modified shock waves for extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy: a simulation based on the Gilmore formulation

Extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (SWL) is a reliable therapy for the treatment of urolithiasis. Nevertheless, improvements to enhance stone fragmentation and reduce tissue damage are still needed. During SWL, cavitation is one of the most important stone fragmentation mechanisms. Bubbles with a diameter between about 7 and 55 μm have been reported to expand and collapse after shock wave passage, forming liquid microjets at velocities of up to 400 m/s that contribute to the pulverization of renal calculi. Several authors have reported that the fragmentation efficiency may be improved by using tandem shock waves. Tandem SWL is based on the fact that the collapse of a bubble can be intensified if a second shock wave arrives tenths or even a few hundredths of microseconds before its collapse. The object of this study is to determine if tandem pulses consisting of a conventional shock wave (estimated rise time between 1 and 20 ns), followed by a slower second pressure profile (0.8 μs rise time), have advantages over conventional tandem SWL. The Gilmore equation was used to simulate the influence of the modified pressure field on the dynamics of a single bubble immersed in water and compare the results with the behavior of the same bubble subjected to tandem shock waves. The influence of the delay between pulses on the dynamics of the collapsing bubble was also studied for both conventional and modified tandem waves. For a bubble of 0.07 mm, our results indicate that the modified pressure profile enhances cavitation compared to conventional tandem waves at a wide range of delays (10-280 μs). According to this, the proposed pressure profile could be more efficient for SWL than conventional tandem shock waves. Similar results were obtained for a ten times smaller bubble.     

Mechanistic investigation of the sonochemical synthesis of zinc ferrite

In this investigation, an attempt has been made to establish the physical mechanism of sonochemical synthesis of zinc ferrite with concurrent analysis of experimental results and simulations of cavitation bubble dynamics. Experiments have been conducted with mechanical stirring as well as under ultrasound irradiation with variation of pH and the static pressure of the reaction medium. Results of this study reveal that physical effects produced by transient cavitation bubbles play a crucial role in the chemical synthesis. Generation of high amplitude shock waves by transient cavitation bubbles manifest their effect through in situ micro-calcination of metal oxide particles (which are generated through thermal hydrolysis of metal acetates) due to energetic collisions between them. Micro-calcination of oxide particles can also occur in the thin liquid shell surrounding bubble interface, which gets heated up during transient collapse of bubbles. The sonochemical effect of production of OH radicals and H₂O₂, in itself, is not able to yield ferrite. Moreover, as the in situ micro-calcination involves very small number of particles or even individual particles (as in intra-particle collisions), the agglomeration between resulting ferrite particles is negligible (as compared to external calcination in convention route), leading to ferrite particles of smaller size (6 nm).     

Generation and control of acoustic cavitation structure

The generation and control of acoustic cavitation structure are a prerequisite for application of cavitation in the field of ultrasonic sonochemistry and ultrasonic cleaning. The generation and control of several typical acoustic cavitation structures (conical bubble structure, smoker, acoustic Lichtenberg figure, tailing bubble structure, jet-induced bubble structures) in a 20–50 kHz ultrasonic field are investigated. Cavitation bubbles tend to move along the direction of pressure drop in the region in front of radiating surface, which are the premise and the foundation of some strong acoustic cavitation structure formation. The nuclei source of above-mentioned acoustic cavitation structures is analyzed. The relationship and mutual transformation of these acoustic cavitation structures are discussed.     

Deformation of a bubble formed by coalescence of cavitation inclusions and shock wave inside it at strong expansion and compression

Dynamics of a cavitation bubble is considered at its strong expansion and subsequent compression. The bubble is formed by merging of two identical spherical cavitation microcavities in the pressure antinode of the intensive ultrasonic standing wave in the half-wave phase with negative pressure. Deformations of bubble and deformations of radially converging shock waves occurring therein at bubble compression are studied depending on the size of microcavities forming the bubble. It is found that compression of the medium in the bubble by the converging shock wave is kept close to the spherical one only in the case, when the radius of merging microcavities is 1800 times smaller than the radius of the bubble formed by merging at the time of its maximal expansion.     

Impact of bubble coalescence in the determination of bubble sizes using a pulsed US technique: Part 2 – Effect of the nature of saturating gas

Knowledge on cavitation bubble size distribution, ambient radius of bubbles is of interest for many applications that include therapeutic and diagnostic medicine. It however becomes a hard quest when increasing the ultrasonic frequency, when direct observation of bubble dynamics is no longer possible. An indirect method based on the estimation of the bubble dissolution time under pulsed ultrasound (362 kHz) is used here under optimized conditions to derive ambient radii of cavitation bubbles in water saturated with He, Ar, Xe, O₂, N₂ and air: 3.0 µm for Ar, 1.2 µm for He, 3.1 µm for Xe, 2.8 µm for O₂, around 1 µm for N₂ and air. If the pulse on-time is increased, bubble coalescence occurs, the extent of which is rather limited for Ar but extremely high for He or N₂.     

Characterising the cavitation activity generated by an ultrasonic horn at varying tip-vibration amplitudes

Dual-perspective high-speed imaging and acoustic detection is used to characterise cavitation activity at the tip of a commercial 20 kHz (f₀) ultrasonic horn, over 2 s sonications across the range of input powers available (20 – 100%). Imaging at 1 × 10⁵ frames per second (fps) captures cavitation-bubble cluster oscillation at the horn-tip for the duration of the sonication. Shadowgraphic imaging at 2 Mfps, from an orthogonal perspective, probes cluster collapse and shock wave generation at higher temporal resolution, facilitating direct correlation of features within the acoustic emission data generated by the bubble activity. f₀/m subharmonic collapses of the primary cavitation cluster directly beneath the tip, with m increasing through integer values at increasing input powers, are studied. Shock waves generated by periodic primary cluster collapses dominate the non-linear emissions of the cavitation noise spectra. Transitional input powers for which the value of m is indistinct, are identified. Overall shock wave content within the emission signals collected during sonications at transitional input powers are reduced, relative to input powers with distinct m. The findings are relevant for the optimisation of applications such as sonochemistry, known to be mediated by bubble collapse phenomena.     

Ultrasonic cavitation at liquid/solid interface in a thin Ga–In liquid layer with free surface

Cavitation in thin layer of liquid metal has potential applications in chemical reaction, soldering, extraction, and therapeutic equipment. In this work, the cavitation characteristics and acoustic pressure of a thin liquid Ga–In alloy were studied by high speed photography, numerical simulation, and bubble dynamics calculation. A self-made ultrasonic system with a TC4 sonotrode, was operated at a frequency of 20 kHz and a max output power of 1000 W during the cavitation recording experiment. The pressure field characteristic inside the thin liquid layer and its influence on the intensity, types, dimensions, and life cycles of cavitation bubbles and on the cavitation evolution process against experimental parameters were systematically studied. The results showed that acoustic pressure inside the thin liquid layer presented alternating positive and negative characteristics within 1 acoustic period (T). Cavitation bubbles nucleated and grew during the negative-pressure stage and shrank and collapsed during the positive-pressure stage. A high bubble growth speed of 16.8 m/s was obtained and evidenced by bubble dynamics calculation. The maximum absolute pressure was obtained at the bottom of the thin liquid layer and resulted in the strongest cavitation. Cavitation was divided into violent and weak stages. The violent cavitation stage lasted several hundreds of acoustic periods and had higher bubble intensity than the weak cavitation stage. Cavitation cloud preferentially appeared during the violent cavitation stage and had a life of several acoustic periods. Tiny cavitation bubbles with life cycles shorter than 1 T dominated the cavitation field. High cavitation intensities were observed at high ultrasonication power and when Q235B alloy was used because such conditions lead to high amplitudes on the substrate and further high acoustic pressure inside the liquid.