On the modeling and simulation of a laser-induced cavitation bubble

Single cavitation bubbles exhibit severe modeling and simulation difficulties. This is due to the small scales of time and space as well as due to the involvement of different phenomena in the dynamics of the bubble. For example, the compressibility, phase transition, and the existence of a noncondensable gas inside the bubble have strong effects on the dynamics of the bubble. Moreover, the collapse of the bubble involves the occurrence of critical conditions for the pressure and temperature. This adds extra difficulties to the choice of equations of state. Even though several models and simulations have been used to study the dynamics of the cavitation bubbles, many details are still not clearly accounted for. Here, we present a numerical investigation for the collapse and rebound of a laser-induced cavitation bubble in liquid water. The compressibility of the liquid and vapor are involved. In addition, great focus is devoted to study the effects of phase transition and the existence of a noncondensable gas on the dynamics of the collapsing bubble. If the bubble contains vapor only, we use the six-equation model for two-phase flows that was modified in our previous work [A. Zein, M. Hantke, and G. Warnecke, J. Comput. Phys., 229(8): 2964-2998, 2010]. This model is an extension to the six-equation model with a single velocity of Kapila et al. (Phys. Fluid, 13: 3002-3024, 2001) taking into account the heat and mass transfer. To study the effect of a noncondensable gas inside the bubble, we add a third phase to the original model. In this case, the phase transition is considered only at interfaces that separate the liquid and its vapor. The stiffened gas equations of state are used as closure relations. We use our own method to determine the parameters to obtain reasonable equations of state for a wide range of temperatures and make them suitable for the phase transition effects. We compare our results with experimental ones. Also our results confirm some expected physical phenomena. Copyright (C) 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.