Universal Scaling Law for Jets of Collapsing Bubbles.
© 2011 EPFL
Cavitation bubbles collapsing and rebounding in a pressure gradient form a ‘‘microjet’’ enveloped by a ‘‘vapor jet.’’
The Cavitation Research Group led by Dr M. Farhat (LMH - Hydraulic Machines Laboratory) have performed unprecedented observations of the vapor jets formed in a uniform gravity-induced pressure gradient, modulated aboard parabolic flights. The data uncover that the normalized jet volume is independent of the liquid density and viscosity. A non-dimensional parameter that governs the onset and development of the jet is proposed. This research is part of series of fundamental Zero-G experiments initiated in 2005 with the collaboration of ESA. Besides being on the cover page of Physical Review Letters, another aspect of the present research was also selected by the American Physical Society to be presented to the media during the upcoming 2011 APS-DFD meeting in Baltimore (USA).
D. Obreschkow et. al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 204501 (2011)
Related link: bubbles.epfl.ch