Direct observation of the pressure developed in a liquid during cavitation-bubble collapse

Abstract

A Mach–Zehnder interferometer with a pulsed dye-laser light source is used to observe the collapse of laser-produced cavitation bubbles in water near a rigid transparent polymeric boundary. Vapor bubbles with a maximum radius of about a millimeter are formed using a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser operating at 1.06 μm with a pulse energy of 4.6 mJ and a pulse duration of 8 ns. The pressure in the liquid around the bubbles is determined directly from the resulting interferograms using a fringe tracing method. Prior to bubble rebound, a region of compressed water develops adjacent to the cavity and a weak acoustic wave is directed towards the rigid boundary.