Cavitation nucleation

Borkent BM, Arora M, Ohl CD, Jong ND, Versluis M, Lohse D, Morch KA, Klaseboer E, Khoo BC (2008) The acceleration of solid particles subjected to cavitation nucleation. J Fluid Mech 610 157-182... 

The efficiency of ultrasonic degassing in a melt flow corresponds to the completeness of the processes of cavitation nucleation, growth and evolution of hydrogen bubbles. So with increasing flow of a melt through an ultrasonic setup, the increase in a number of working ultrasonic sources and in the duration of the residence time of the melt in the cavitation region are required. 

Classic nucleation theory must be modified for nucleation near a critical point. Observed supercooling and superheating far exceeds that predicted by conventional theory and McGraw and Reiss [36] pointed out that if a usually neglected excluded volume term is retained the free energy of the critical nucleus increases considerably. As noted by Derjaguin [37], a similar problem occurs in the theory of cavitation. In binary systems the composition of the nuclei will differ from that of the bulk... 

Increases in the appHed static pressure increase the acoustic intensity necessary for cavitation, but if equal number of cavitation events occur, the coUapse should be more intense. In contrast, as the ambient pressure is reduced, eventuaUy the gas-fiUed crevices of particulate matter which serve as nucleation sites for the formation of cavitation in even "pure" Hquids, wiU be deactivated, and therefore the observed sonochemistry wiU be diminished. 

Generation Spontaneous generation of gas bubbles within a homogeneous liquid is theoreticaUy impossible (Bikerman, Foams Theoiy and Industrial Applications, Reinhold, New York, 1953, p. 10). The appearance of a bubble requires a gas nucleus as avoid in the liquid. The nucleus may be in the form of a small bubble or of a solid carrying adsorbed gas, examples of the latter being dust particles, boiling chips, and a solid wall. A void can result from cavitation, mechan-ic ly or acoustically induced. Blander and Katz [AlChE J., 21, 833 (1975)] have thoroughly reviewed bubble nucleation in liquids. 

Temperature, air content, pressure, and chemical composition of the fluid can affect the tendency of the fluid to cavitate. For example, the presence of minute air bubbles in the fluid can act as nucleation sites for cavitation bubbles, thereby increasing the tendency of the fluid to cavitate. Increasing pressure decreases susceptibility to cavitation decreasing pressure increases susceptibility to cavitation. 

In other cases, the inherent flaws or perturbations responsible for fracture are less easily recognized. The internal spalling of glass or the cavitation of a rapidly expanding liquid are examples although even here, some form of imperfection such as impurities, dislocations, or thermal fluctuations are expected to play an important role in nucleating the fracture process. 

Cavitation occurs in a rapidly moving fluid when there is a decrease in pressure in the fluid below its vapor pressure and the presence of such nucleating sources as minute foreign particles or definite gas bubbles. As a result, vapor bubble forms that continues to grow until it reaches a region of pressure... 

Li HY, Tseng FC, Pan C (2004) Bubble dynamics in micro-channels. Part II two parallel microchannels. Int J Heat Mass Transfer 47 5591-5601 Li J, Cheng P (2004) Bubble cavitation in a micro-channel. Int J Heat Mass Transfer 47 2689-2698 Liu D, Lee PS, Gaiimella SV (2005) Prediction of the onset of nucleate boiling in microchannel flow. Int J Heat Mass Transfer 48 5134-5149... 

In a recent study, Saintier et al. ° investigated the multiaxial effects on fatigue crack nucleation and growth in natural mbber. They found that the same mechanisms of decohesion and cavitation of inclusions that cause crack nucleation and crack growth in uniaxial experiments were responsible for the crack behavior in multiaxial experiments. They studied crack orientations for nonproportional multiaxial fatigue loadings and found them to be related to the direction of the maximum first principal stress of a cycle when material plane rotations are taken into account. This method accounts for material rotations in the analysis due to the displacement of planes associated with large strain conditions. 

A second problem in these studies concerns cavitation dynamics on the nanometer length scale [86]. If sufficiently energetic, the ultrafast laser excitation of a gold nanoparticle causes strong nonequilibrium heating of the particle lattice and of the water shell close to the particle surface. Above a threshold in the laser power, which defines the onset of homogeneous nucleation, nanoscale water bubbles develop around the particles, expand, and collapse again within the first nanosecond after excitation (Fig. 9). The size of the bubbles may be examined in this way. 

How is a bubble created in acoustic cavitation There are three mechanisms in nucleation of a bubble in acoustic cavitation [14], One is the nucleation at the surface of solids such as a liquid container, motes or particles in liquid, if present. Nucleation takes place especially at crevices of motes, particles or a liquid container (Fig. 1.3). 

The third mechanism for nucleation is the fragmentation of active cavitation bubbles [16]. A shape unstable bubble is fragmented into several daughter bubbles which are new nuclei for cavitation bubbles. Shape instability of a bubble is mostly induced by an asymmetric acoustic environment such as the presence of a neighboring bubble, solid object, liquid surface, or a traveling ultrasound, or an asymmetric liquid container etc. [25-27] Under some condition, a bubble jets many tiny bubbles which are new nuclei [6, 28]. This mechanism is important after acoustic cavitation is fully started. 

Cavitation bubbles work as nucleation sites of particles. For example, in a supercooled sucrose solution, nucleation of ice crystals induced by cavitation bubbles has been experimentally observed [72], This phenomenon has been called sonocrys-tallization [73]. Although there are some papers on the mechanism of sonocrystal-lization, it has not yet been fully understood [74, 75]. It has been reported that the distribution of crystal size in sonocrystallization is narrower than that without ultrasound [73]. It may be related to the narrower size distribution of sonochemi-cally synthesized particles compared to that without ultrasound [76, 77]. Further studies are required for the mechanism of particle nucleation by ultrasound. 

Saclier M, Peczalski R, Andrieu J (2010) A theoretical model for ice primary nucleation induced by acoustic cavitation. Ultrason Sonochem 17 98-105... 

Also, it should be noted that solubility of Xe in water is three times higher than Ar, which provides additional nucleation site for cavitation. 

Thus, ultrasound and surface active agents together help in reducing the aggregation of particles because of the fact that the bonds between them are extended due to cavitation. Additives inhibit the agglomeration during nucleation process by reducing the surface tension. Ultrasound and additives both reduce population of local nuclei hence reduction in particle size [43]. 

Virone C, Kramer H, Rosmalen G, Stoop A, Bakker T (2006) Primary nucleation induced by ultrasonic cavitation. J Cryst Growth 294( 1) 9—15... 

Electrolytes influence almost every facet of cavitation from nucleation to coalescence, to the conditions of the bubble interior which determine the nature and severity of inertial collapse. Burikin et al. [34] investigated optical cavitation and found that on both hydrophobic and hydrophilic surfaces the cavitation probability... 

Acoustic cavitation can be considered to involve at least three discrete stages nucleation, bubble growth, and, under proper conditions, implosive collapse. The dynamics of cavity growth and collapse are strikingly dependent on local environment we therefore will consider separately cavitation in a homogeneous liquid and cavitation near a liquid-solid interface. 

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