Interaction mechanism of double bubbles in hydrodynamic cavitation

Bubble-bubble interaction is an important factor in cavitation bubble dynamics. In this paper, the dynamic behaviors of double cavitation bubbles driven by varying pressure field downstream of an orifice plate in hydrodynamic cavitation reactor are examined. The bubble-bubble interaction between two bubbles with different radii is considered. We have shown the different dynamic behaviors between double cavitation bubbles and a single bubble by solving two coupling nonlinear equations using the Runge-Kutta fourth order method with adaptive step size control. The simulation results indicate that, when considering the role of the neighbor smaller bubble, the oscillation of the bigger bubble gradually exhibits a lag in comparison with the single-bubble case, and the extent of the lag becomes much more obvious as time goes by. This phenomenon is more easily observed with the increase of the initial radius of the smaller bubble. In comparison with the single-bubble case, the oscillation of the bigger bubble is enhanced by the neighbor smaller bubble. Especially, the pressure pulse of the bigger bubble rises intensely when the sizes of two bubbles approach, and a series of peak values for different initial radii are acquired when the initial radius ratio of two bubbles is in the range of 0.9 similar to 1.0. Although the increase of the center distance between two bubbles can weaken the mutual interaction, it has no significant influence on the enhancement trend. On the one hand, the interaction between two bubbles with different radii can suppress the growth of the smaller bubble; on the other hand, it also can enhance the growth of the bigger one at the same time. The significant enhancement effect due to the interaction of multi-bubbles should be paid more attention because it can be used to reinforce the cavitation intensity for various potential applications in future.