Synchrotron X-ray Photography Study of Cavitation Bubble Distribution in an Al-Cu Melt

The spatial and size distribution of cavitation bubbles in Al-18wt.%Cu during ultrasonic melt processing at a fixed acoustic intensity input was exhaustively studied by utilizing synchrotron x-ray photography. The result reveals that the larger bubbles concentrate within an intense cavitation zone close to the radiation face of sonotrode, which is out-surrounded by a weak cavitation zone with bubbles sparse-inhabitation. Most cavitation bubbles obey a truncated size-Gaussian distribution, and the average size decreases as distanced away from the radiation face. The intensive cavitation zone contributes to an effectively refined solidification structure.

Automated summary

The distribution of cavitation bubbles in Al-18wt.%Cu during ultrasonic melt processing is influenced by acoustic intensity and distance from the radiation face. The bubbles show a clear difference in distribution, which significantly impacts the solidification structure.