1105.4104 (Olivier Vincent et al.)

Birth and growth of cavitation bubbles within water under tension
confined in a simple synthetic tree    [PDF]

Olivier Vincent, Philippe Marmottant, Pedro A. Quinto-Su, Claus-Dieter Ohl

Water under tension, as can be found in several systems including tree
vessels, is metastable. Cavitation can spontaneously occur, nucleating a
bubble. We investigate the dynamics of spon- taneous or triggered cavitation
inside water filled microcavities of a hydrogel. Results show that a stable
bubble is created in only a microsecond timescale, after transient
oscillations. Then, a diffusion driven expansion leads to filling of the
cavity. Analysis reveals that the nucleation of a bubble releases a tension of
several tens of MPa, and a simple model captures the different time scales of
the expansion process.

View original: http://arxiv.org/abs/1105.4104