Research project

An Experimental Investigation of Laser Generated Cavitation and its Effects on Surface Coatings

Lead researchers:

Professor Peter Birkin
Other researchers:

Professor Jeremy Frey
Status:

Not active

Project overview

In this project single cavitation bubbles will be generated by laser discharge into an electrochemical cell. The effect of cavitation action, produced the subsequent bubble collapse, on new electrochemically generated cavitation resistant coatings will be investigated and compared to conventio strategies for reducing cavitation erosion. This investigation will initially concentrate on the fundamentals of bubble growth and collapse, which wi monitored in a number of ways. The cavitation bubble will be photographed at sufficient frame rates to determine the shape changes' and wall vel during collapse. The physical and chemical effects of the growth and collapse of a single cavitation bubble will also be investigated using electrochemical techniques to measure chemical species produced, mass transfer enhancements to the solid liquid interface and physical damag an electrode. The electrochemical and photographic experiments will be compared to CFD simulations of cavitation bubble collapse. This inform will enable understanding of the effects including the influence of distance between the bubble origin and the solid liquid interface and the effect a magnitude of the single cavitation event on physical and chemical processes occurring within the system.