Dynamic Criterion for Cavitation of Bubbles

Abstract

The classical criterion for cavitation of bubbles is based on the assumption that the bubbles are subjected to a quasi-steady pressure change and that the non condensible gas within the cavity behaves isothermally. No simple criterion accounting for the dynamic terms in the Rayleigh-Plesset equation is presently available. In this paper, a criterion for cavitation of bubbles, which takes into account the contribution of the dynamic terms in the Rayleigh-Plesset equation, is obtained and presented in a new useful form which allows rapid computation of the critical pressure whatever the fluid and the nuclei initial conditions are. The impact of these results on different flow situations are analyzed and discussed.