Time-scale for critical growth of partial and supercavitation development over impulsively translating projectiles

A physical mechanism is proposed to explain an experimentally observed critical time scale that governs the partial cavity development over blunt free flying cylindrical projectiles. The projectiles were ejected using a modified gas-gun mechanism consisting of a barrel and explosive charge. Upon ignition, high-pressure gases forced a projectile down the launch barrel and into quiescent water. Results indicate that initial small cavities created at the projectile forebody are convected downstream where they subsequently grow towards the forebody, partially enveloping the projectile in a vapor cavity. The time at which the initially stable bubbles rapidly expand signifies that the partial cavity development process has begun. When this time is quantified and is non-dimensionalized appropriately, a time-scale for the critical growth (CGTS) for the cavitation is revealed. A plausible explanation of the partial cavity development process observed in these experiments is that the process is due to the interaction between small cavitation bubbles shed from the projectile forebody and the vortex ring generated by the impulsively started projectile. This interaction mediates the destabilization and spontaneous growth of small unstable bubbles resulting in the formation of partial cavitation over the projectile. An additional supercavitation formation mechanism was observed and is attributed to the launch mechanism. This process is not due to pure hydrodynamic cavitation, but rather an effect we term “gas-leakage” whereby the driving gases contaminated the aft flow field near the projectile and thus facilitated supercavitation to occur on a reduced time scale. This mechanism is equivalent to off-body ventilated supercavitation.     

Shock and wave dynamics in cavitating compressible liquid flows in injection nozzles

Due to the exceptional high inlet pressures up to 2,000 bar flow dynamics and efficiency of modern injection systems are controlled by high frequency wave dynamics of the compressible liquid flow. Corresponding to alternating shock and expansion waves the liquid fluid evaporates and recondenses instantaneously. Here we present CFD simulations of the time accurate evolution of cavitating flows in 2-D plane and in six-hole injection nozzles with focus on the wave dynamics just after initialisation of the flow and within the time scale Δt ≤ 10^?4 s of pilot and multi-point injection. Due to shock reflections at the bottom of the sack hole the instantaneous maximum pressure increases more than three times higher as compared with the prescribed pressure at the nozzle inlet. For instance, in case of an inlet pressure of 600 bar the maximum pressure in the sack and therefore ahead of the nozzle bore holes reaches about 2,100 bar. It is quite reasonable that this amplification of the pressure affects the evolution of the convective flow and therefore the mass flow through the nozzle bore holes.     

Delivery by shock waves of active principle embedded in gelatin-based capsules

PURPOSE: Delivering a drug close to the targeted cells improves its benefit versus risk ratio. A possible method for local drug delivery is to encapsulate the drug into solid microscopic carriers and to release it by ultrasound. The objective of this work was to use shock waves for delivering a molecule loaded in polymeric microcapsules. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Ethyl benzoate (EBZ) was encapsulated in spherical gelatin shells by complex coacervation. A piezocomposite shock wave generator (120 mm in diameter, focused at 97 mm, pulse length 1.4 micros) was used for sonicating the capsules and delivering the molecule. Shock parameters (acoustic pressure, number of shocks and shock repetition frequency) were varied in order to measure their influence on EBZ release. A cavitation-inhibitor liquid (Ablasonic) was then used to evaluate the role of cavitation in the capsule disruption. RESULTS: The measurements showed that the mean quantity of released EBZ was proportional to the acoustic pressure of the shock wave (r2 > 0.99), and increased with the number of applied shocks. Up to 88% of encapsulated EBZ could be released within 4 min only (240 shocks, 1 Hz). However, the quantity of released EBZ dropped at high shock rates (above 2Hz). Ultrasound imaging sequences showed that cavitation clouds might form, at high shock rates, along the acoustic axis making the exposure inefficient. Measurements done in Ablasonic showed that cavitation plays a major role in microcapsules disruption. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, we designed polymeric capsules that can be disrupted by shock waves. This type of microcapsule is theoretically a suitable vehicle for carrying hydrophobic drugs. Following these positive results, encapsulation of drugs is considered for further medical applications.     

On the interaction between ultrasound waves and bubble clouds in mono- and dual-frequency sonoreactors

Since the last decades, extensive work have been done on the numerical modeling of mono-frequency sonoreactors, we here consider the modeling of dual-frequency sonoreactors. We first present the basic features of the CAMUS code (CAvitating Medium under UltraSound), for mono-frequency excitation. Computation at low, medium and high frequency are presented. Extension of the numerical tool CAMUS is also presented: Caflisch equations are modified to take into account the dual-frequency excitation of the sound. We consider 28–56, 28–100 and 28–200 kHz sonoreactors. Fields of cavitation bubble emergence are quite different from the ones under mono-frequency. Study of spatio-temporal dynamics of cavitation bubbles in a 28–56 kHz sonoreactor is also considered. Taking into account the pressure field induced by the dual-frequency wave propagation, we compute the Bjerknes force applied on the cavitation bubble that is responsible for the bubble migration. A two phase flow approach allows to compute the bubble migration.     

Decomposition of chlorofluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbons in water by ultrasonic irradiation

The sonochemical degradation of CFC-113 (F₂ClC---CCl₂F), HCFC-225ca (F₃C---CF₂CCl₂H), HCFC-225cb (F₂ClC---CF₂---CClFH) and HFC-134a (F₃C---CF₂H) in water was investigated. The decomposition rates of CFC-113 increased with increasing the concentration of the CFC and at high concentration the rates far exceeded the rate of OH radical formation by water sonolysis, and OH radicals seemed to have little effect on the decomposition. The pyrolysis in the cavitation bubbles was suggested.     

诱导轮泵的汽蚀特性和内部流场的研究

对二个叶片的平板螺旋形诱导轮泵的汽蚀性能，叶轮内的空泡发展和内部流动进行了测试。发现随着吸入压力的降低，二个叶片上原来同样发展的空泡之间有时会失去平衡，出现一个叶片的空泡激剧缩小，而另一个叶片的空泡随之增大这种交错叶片空泡的现象。这种现象有时会使诱导轮的理论扬程和实际扬程急速下降。利用上述测试结果对该现象引起杨程下降的机理作了探讨。     

Spherical inflation of a class of compressible elastic bodies

Using a special model that belongs to a new class of elastic bodies wherein the Cauchy-Green stretch is given in terms of the Cauchy stress and its invariants, within the context of the spherical inflation of a spherical annulus, we show that interesting phenomena like the development of “stress boundary layers” manifest themselves. We consider two cases of boundary value problems, one in which there is a cavity in a sphere and the other in which there is a rigid spherical inclusion in a sphere. We show that in the case of a rigid inclusion, it is possible for a pronounced “stress boundary” layer to develop, in that the values of the stresses within this boundary layer that is adjacent to a spherical inclusion are much larger than external to it. We also show that in the case of both the cavity and a rigid inclusion, the stress concentration is an order of magnitude higher than the increase in the deformation gradient, that is, the stress and the stretch do not scale in a similar manner. While the stress adjacent to a rigid inclusion can be 2500 times the applied radial stress, the maximum stretch, which occurs at the rigid inclusion is about 10. While the variation in the stresses are linear in thin walled annular regions, we find that in thick walled annular regions, the variation of the stresses is non-linear.     

Sonoluminescence emission spectra of a 3.6 MHz HIFU in sweeping mode

Use of sweeping mode with a 3.6 MHz High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) allows cavitation activity to be controlled. This is especially true in the pre-focal zone where the high concentration of bubbles acts as an acoustic reflector and quenches cavitation above this area. Previous studies attributed the enhancement of cavitation activity under negative sweep to the activation of more bubble nuclei, requiring deeper investigations. After mapping this activity with SCL measurements, cavitation noise spectra were recorded. The behavior of the acoustic broadband noise follows the sonochemical one i.e., showing the same attenuation (positive scan) or intensification (negative scan) of cavitational activity. In 1 M NaCl 3.7 mM 2-propanol solution saturated by a mixture of Ar-15.5%O₂-2.2%N₂, intensities of SL spectra are high enough to allow detection of several molecular emissions (OH, NH, C₂, Na) under negative frequency sweeps. This is the first report of molecular emissions at such high frequency. Their intensities are low, and they are very broad, following the trend obtained at fixed frequency up to 1 MHz. Under optimized conditions, CN emission chosen as a spectroscopic probe is strong enough to be simulated, which is reported for the first time at such high frequency. The resulting characteristics of the plasma do not show any spectral difference, so bubble nature is the same in the pre-and post-focal zone under different sweeping parameters. Consequently, SL and SCL intensification was not related to a change in plasma nature inside the bubbles but to the number of cavitation bubbles.     

Effect of compressive stress on cavitation erosion-corrosion behavior of nickel-aluminum bronze alloy

The effect of compressive stress on cavitation erosion-corrosion behavior of nickel-aluminum bronze alloy was investigated, and the results showed that the alloy exhibited selective phase corrosion of eutectoid “α + κ_iii” and its destruction was aggravated with more cavitation mass loss up to 1.74 times of the specimen without stress. It was mainly owing to the enhanced corrosion-induced erosion caused by compressive stress, which led to lattice distortion of the alloy and the resulting accelerated selective phase corrosion with increasing surface roughness, and then intensified the synergistic effect of electrochemical corrosion and mechanical erosion.     

Cavitation in a periodontal pocket by an ultrasonic dental scaler: A numerical investigation

Periodontal pockets are spaces or holes surrounded by teeth under the gum line. These pockets can become filled with infection-causing bacteria resulting in tissue, bone, and tooth loss. Cavitation produced by the oscillating tip of dental ultrasonic scalers plays a significant role in routine periodontal therapy to clean these areas. Numerical studies were conducted for a scaler vibrating in a periodontal pocket which was simplified to a hole, using ABAQUS based on the finite element method. The simulations consider the three-dimensional, nonlinear, and transient interaction between the vibration and deformation of the scaler tip, the water flow around the scaler and the cavitation formation. The numerical model was validated by comparing results with experimental data for a scaler vibrating in an unbounded liquid, the displacement at the free end of the scaler and the cavitation pattern near the scaler tip displaying excellent agreement. A parametric study for a scaler vibrating in a hole has been carried out in terms of the volume of the hole, the taper ratio (the radius ratio between the circular opening and bottom of the hole), and the immersion depth of the scaler tip in the hole. The amount of cavitation generated is evaluated by the cavitation density (or the void fraction) which is the ratio of the volume of the cavitation occupied in the hole to the total volume of the hole. Numerical results indicate that the cavitation density in the hole increases with the decreasing hole volume and the increasing taper ratio. It is inferred that cleaning effects could be increased if some modifications to the scaler design could be made to increase the blocking effect of the hole during the cleaning process. Cavitation is observed in the hole even if the scaler is placed above the hole and increases with the immersion depth.