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DOE OSTI2015

Nonlinear bubble nucleation and growth following filament and white-light continuum generation induced by a single-shot femtosecond laser pulse into dielectrics based on consideration of the time scale

Bubble nucleation and growth following plasma channeling (filament) and white-light continuum in liquid irradiated by a single-shot fs-pulse were experimentally investigated with close observation of the time scale. Making full use of a new confocal system and time-resolved visualization techniques, we obtained evidence suggestive of a major/minor role of the non-linear/thermal effects during the fs-pulse-induced bubble's fountainhead (10{sup −13} s) and growth (10{sup −7} s), which was never observed with the use of the ns-pulse (i.e., optic cavitation). In this context, the fs-pulse-induced bubble is not an ordinary optic cavitation but rather is nonlinear-optic cavitation. We present the intrinsic differences in the dominant-time domain of the fs-pulse and ns-pulse excitation, and intriguingly, a mere hundred femtoseconds' excitation predetermines the size of the bubble appearing several microseconds after irradiation. That is, the nucleation happens temporally beyond a six-order-of-magnitude difference.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2017

Investigation of Homogeneous Relaxation Model Parameters and their Implications for Gasoline Injectors

Flash boiling is known to be a common phenomenon for gasoline direct injection (GDI) engine sprays. The Homogeneous Relaxation Model has been adopted in many recent numerical studies for predicting cavitation and flash boiling. The Homogeneous Relaxation Model is assessed in this study. Sensitivity analysis of the model parameters has been documented to infer the driving factors for the flash-boiling predictions. The model parameters have been varied over a range and the differences in predictions of the extent of flashing have been studied. Apart from flashing in the near nozzle regions, mild cavitation is also predicted inside the gasoline injectors. The variation in the predicted time scales through the model parameters for predicting these two different thermodynamic phenomena (cavitation, flash) have been elaborated in this study. Turbulence model effects have also been investigated by comparing predictions from the standard and Re-Normalization Group (RNG) k-ε turbulence models.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

DOE OSTI2012

Measurements of Gas Bubble Size Distributions in Flowing Liquid Mercury

ABSTRACT Pressure waves created in liquid mercury pulsed spallation targets have been shown to induce cavitation damage on the target container. One way to mitigate such damage would be to absorb the pressure pulse energy into a dispersed population of small bubbles, however, measuring such a population in mercury is difficult since it is opaque and the mercury is involved in a turbulent flow. Ultrasonic measurements have been attempted on these types of flows, but the flow noise can interfere with the measurement, and the results are unverifiable and often unrealistic. Recently, a flow loop was built and operated at Oak Ridge National Labarotory to assess the capability of various bubbler designs to deliver an adequate population of bubbles to mitigate cavitation damage. The invented diagnostic technique involves flowing the mercury with entrained gas bubbles in a steady state through a horizontal piping section with a glass-window observation port located on the top. The mercury flow is then suddenly stopped and the bubbles are allowed to settle on the glass due to buoyancy. Using a bright-field illumination and a high-speed camera, the arriving bubbles are detected and counted, and then the images can be processed to determine the bubble populations. After using this technique to collect data on each bubbler, bubble size distributions were built for the purpose of quantifying bubbler performance, allowing the selection of the best bubbler options. This paper presents the novel procedure, photographic technique, sample visual results and some example bubble size distributions. The best bubbler options were subsequently used in proton beam irradiation tests performed at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. The cavitation damage results from the irradiated test plates in contact with the mercury are available for correlation with the bubble populations. The most effective mitigating population can now be designed into prototypical geometries for implementation into an actual SNS target.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

DOE OSTI2013

Choked-Flow Inlet Orifice Bubbler for Creating Small Bubbles in Mercury

Pressure waves created in liquid mercury pulsed spallation targets like the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, induce cavitation damage on the target container. The cavitation damage is thought to limit the lifetime of the target for power levels at and above 1 MW. One way to mitigate the damage would be to absorb the pressure pulse energy into a dispersed population of small bubbles, however, creating a bubble size distribution that is sufficiently large and disperse in mercury is challenging due to the high surface tension. Also, measuring the population is complicated by the opacity and the high level of turbulent mixing. Recent advances in bubble diagnostics by batch sampling the mercury made it possible to compare bubble populations for different techniques in a SNS-1/20th scale test loop. More than 10 bubblers were tested and the most productive bubblers were taken for in-beam testing at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center (LANSCE) WNR user facility. One bubbler design, referred to as the inlet-orifice bubbler, that showed moderate success in creating populations also has an added advantage that it could easily be included in the existing SNS full-scale mercury target configuration. Improvements to the bubbler were planned including a reduction of the nozzle size to choke the gas injection, thus steadying the injected mass flow and allowing multiple nozzles to work off of a common plenum. For the first time, reliable bubble population data are available in the prototypical target geometry and can be compared with populations that mitigated cavitation damage. This paper presents those experimental results.

mercury bubbles SNS cavitation damage mitigation e↗

DOE OSTI2012

High-temperature flexural creep of ZrB2-SiC ceramics in argon atmosphere

Four-point flexure creep deformation of ZrB2-30 vol% SiC ceramics in argon atmosphere under a static load of 19 MPa for 0-100 h at 1500 and 1600 C was investigated. The strain rate at 1600 oC was 3.7 times higher than that at 1500 oC. Microstructural evolution during creep consisted of nucleation and growth of triple-point cavitations which were always associated with SiC particles. Due to the low stress, only isolated cavitations were nucleated, and no microcracks were formed. For up to 100 h at 1500 and 1600 C, the grains maintained their size and shape. The cavitations in both size and number showed no obvious difference from 26 to 100 h at 1500 C, whereas that showed a significant increase from 26 to 100 h at 1600 C. Present study suggested that ZrB2-30 vol% SiC exhibited relatively good microstructural stability and creep resistance at 1500 C in argon atmosphere.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2013

Liquid and liquid–gas flows at all speeds

All speed flows and in particular low Mach number flow algorithms are addressed for the numerical approximation of the Kapila et al. [1] multiphase flow model. This model is valid for fluid mixtures evolving in mechanical equilibrium but out of temperature equilibrium and is efficient for material interfaces computation separating miscible and non-miscible fluids. In this context, the interface is considered as a numerically diffused zone, captured as well as all present waves (shocks, expansion waves). The same flow model can be used to solve cavitating and boiling flows [2]. Many applications occurring with liquid–gas interfaces and cavitating flows involve a very wide range of Mach number, from 10{sup −3} to supersonic (and even hypersonic) conditions with respect to the mixture sound speed. It is thus important to address numerical methods free of restrictions regarding the Mach number. To do this, a preconditioned Riemann solver is built and embedded into the Godunov explicit scheme. It is shown that this method converges to exact solutions but needs too small time steps to be efficient. An implicit version is then derived, first in one dimension and second in the frame of 2D unstructured meshes. Two-phase flow preconditioning is then addressed in the frame of the Saurel et al. [3] algorithm. Modifications of the preconditioned Riemann solver are needed and detailed. Convergence of both single phase and two-phase numerical solutions are demonstrated with the help of single phase and two-phase steady nozzle flow solutions. Last, the method is illustrated by the computation of real cavitating flows in Venturi nozzles. Vapour pocket size and instability frequencies are reproduced by the model and method without using any adjustable parameter.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2021

Incorporating bubble growth volume feedback to improve simulation of the response of a structure containing liquid and gas to sudden energy input

The SNS target module is a stainless-steel structure that contains and directs mercury. The mercury is struck with short, intense proton pulses to create neutrons. The pulses deposit energy and cause loads on the target structure and mercury cavitation. Helium bubbles are introduced into the mercury to reduce loads and cavitation. This gas complicates the prediction of the target module’s physical response. The current method used to simulate the structural response to the proton pulse incorporates a simple but effective approach to approximate mercury cavitation effects. This method cannot account for the changes from injected non-condensable gas. The ability to model the target vessel response is a prerequisite for estimating its life. Known approaches for simulating a bubbly fluid mixture’s response are computationally expensive and impractical for detailed engineering models. A constitutive model is proposed for target mercury with injected gas bubbles, with the intent of providing more accurate mercury–vessel response behavior without the computing costs required to track individual bubbles. The model’s assumptions and a computational model embodiment are described. The bubbly mercury computational model is subjected to test problems to assess its potential utility. Here, the model was able to better predict the effect of gas on wave propagation.

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

DOE OSTI2022

Synchrotron X-ray based particle image velocimetry to measure multiphase streamflow and densitometry

Synchrotron-based radiation techniques are increasingly used in the field of flow condition measurements. As a complicated multiphase flow, cavitation has been investigated in a wide variety of industrial fields, to prevent damages on spillways at large dams or intensify the bacteria eradication rate during water treatments. To control the detrimental effects of cavitating flows, the dynamics of and mechanisms affecting cavitation development shall be visualized and identified in real-time. Due to the large reflection and scattering effects of multiphase flow, standard visible-light imaging technologies cannot penetrate vapor bubbles and provide extremely limited information. In this study, the synchrotron source emitted high-flux X-ray pulses are used to capture flow motion and visualize internal structures with sufficiently high spatial and temporal resolutions. The image processing procedures on raw x-ray images are developed using 2D Fourier transform (FT) and wavelet transform (WT) to implement the contrast enhancement and de-noising. Through the edge detection algorithm, tracking either seeded particles or phase interfaces inside the opaque multiphase flow can be achieved to perform the particle image velocimetry. Further, with decomposing particle-only and particle-eliminated subplots from the X-ray phase-contrast image, the time-resolved velocity and void fraction fields are obtained simultaneously, paving a way for further flow condition analysis such as densitometry.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2018

Mature landfill leachate utilization using a cost-effective hybrid method

Highlights: • Co-digestion of sewage sludge and cavitated mature landfill leachate is studied. • The use of a small CL dose and optimal co-digestion HRT of 20 days is suggested. • Biogas production rate increases when optimal HRT is ensured. • FT-IR/PAS analysis seems to indicate that no new toxic compounds are formed. • The method is recommended as cost-effective for utilizing mature leachate. - Abstract: The main goal of this study was to investigate the co-digestion of sewage sludge and mature landfill leachate pretreated through hydrodynamic cavitation. The process efficiency was analyzed from the aspects of organics removal, biogas production, kinetics and digestate quality. Energy efficiency of the overall treatment was evaluated as well. A dose of hydrodynamically cavitated leachate of 5% v/v was used as a substrate for co-digestion with sewage sludge at a hydraulic retention time of 20 days. This improved the kinetics, biogas production and corresponding yields, as well as digestate quality. Fourier transform infrared photoacoustic spectroscopy analysis seemed to indicate that no new toxic compounds were formed with co-digestion. The investigated two-stage treatment is recommended as a safe and cost-effective method of utilizing mature leachate.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2018

Molecular Simulation of MoS 2 Exfoliation

A wide variety of two-dimensional layered materials are synthesized by liquid-phase exfoliation. Here we examine exfoliation of MoS 2 into nanosheets in a mixture of water and isopropanol (IPA) containing cavitation bubbles. Using force fields optimized with experimental data on interfacial energies between MoS 2 and the solvent, multimillion-atom molecular dynamics simulations are performed in conjunction with experiments to examine shock-induced collapse of cavitation bubbles and the resulting exfoliation of MoS 2 . The collapse of cavitation bubbles generates high-speed nanojets and shock waves in the solvent. Large shear stresses due to the nanojet impact on MoS 2 surfaces initiate exfoliation, and shock waves reflected from MoS 2 surfaces enhance exfoliation. Structural correlations in the solvent indicate that shock induces an ice VII like motif in the first solvation shell of water.

71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSIC↗

DOE OSTI2014

Microrheology close to an equilibrium phase transition

We investigate the microstructural and microrheological response to a tracer particle of a two-dimensional colloidal suspension under thermodynamic conditions close to a liquid-gas phase boundary. On the liquid side of the binodal, increasing the velocity of the (repulsive) tracer leads to the development of a pronounced cavitation bubble, within which the concentration of colloidal particles is strongly depleted. The tendency of the liquid to cavitate is characterized by a dimensionless “colloidal cavitation” number. On the gas side of the binodal, a pulled (attractive) tracer leaves behind it an extended trail of colloidal liquid, arising from downstream advection of a wetting layer on its surface. For both situations the velocity dependent friction is calculated.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2014

Detecting vapour bubbles in simulations of metastable water

The investigation of cavitation in metastable liquids with molecular simulations requires an appropriate definition of the volume of the vapour bubble forming within the metastable liquid phase. Commonly used approaches for bubble detection exhibit two significant flaws: first, when applied to water they often identify the voids within the hydrogen bond network as bubbles thus masking the signature of emerging bubbles and, second, they lack thermodynamic consistency. Here, we present two grid-based methods, the M-method and the V-method, to detect bubbles in metastable water specifically designed to address these shortcomings. The M-method incorporates information about neighbouring grid cells to distinguish between liquid- and vapour-like cells, which allows for a very sensitive detection of small bubbles and high spatial resolution of the detected bubbles. The V-method is calibrated such that its estimates for the bubble volume correspond to the average change in system volume and are thus thermodynamically consistent. Both methods are computationally inexpensive such that they can be used in molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations of cavitation. We illustrate them by computing the free energy barrier and the size of the critical bubble for cavitation in water at negative pressure.

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗

DOE OSTI2019

Physics of picosecond pulse laser ablation

This study investigates the physical processes involved in picosecond pulse (20-28 ps FWHM) laser ablation of Al 6061, 316L stainless steel, and undoped crystalline Si ($\langle$100$\rangle$) over a range of laser wavelength (355 nm and 1064 nm) and fluence (0.1-40 J/cm 2 ). Experimental measurements of material ablation rate show enhanced removal at the 355 nm wavelength, primarily due to laser-plasma interaction (LPI) within the ablative plume that approaches an order of magnitude increase over the measured removal at 1064 nm. A transition in the ablation rate at 355 nm is identified around ~10 J/cm 2 above which the removal efficiency increases by a factor of two to three. Multi-physics radiation hydrodynamic simulations, considering LPI effects and utilizing a novel mixed-phase equation of state model, show that the transition in ablation efficiency is due to the onset of melt ejection through cavitation, where laser-driven shock heating sets the depth of melt penetration and the ensuing release wave from the ablation surface drives cavitation through the imposition of tensile strain within the melt. High-speed pump-probe imaging of the ejecta and ejecta collection studies, as well as scanning electron microscopy of the ablation craters, support the proposed cavitation mechanism in the higher fluence range. The ablation process is vitally influenced by LPI effects and the thermophysical properties of the material.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗

DOE OSTI2019

Quench-Spot Detection for Superconducting Accelerator Cavities Via Flow Visualization in Superfluid Helium-4

Superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavities, cooled by superfluid helium-4 (He II), are key components in modern particle accelerators. Quenches in SRF cavities caused by Joule heating from local surface defects can severely limit the maximum achievable accelerating field. Existing methods for quench-spot detection include temperature mapping and second-sound triangulation. These methods are useful but also have known limitations. Here we describe an alternative method for surface quench-spot detection by visualizing the heat transfer in He II via tracking He2 molecular tracer lines. A proof-of-concept experiment is conducted, in which a miniature heater mounted on a plate is pulsed on to simulate a surface quench spot. A He2 tracer line created nearby the heater deforms due to the counterflow heat transfer in He II. By analyzing the tracer-line deformation, we well reproduce the heater location within a few hundred microns, which clearly demonstrates the feasibility of this alternative technology. Our analysis also reveals that the heat content transported in He II is only a small fraction of the total input heat energy. We show that the remaining energy is essentially consumed in the formation of a cavitation zone near the heater. By estimating the size of this cavitation zone, we discuss how the existence of the cavitation zone may explain a decades-long puzzle observed in many past second-sound triangulation experiments.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗

DOE OSTI2018

Correlation of Injury Simulation with Clinical Assessment of Traumatic Brain Injury

This report contains a summary of our efforts to correlate head injury simulations predicting intracranial fluid cavitation with clinical assessments of brain injury from blunt impact to the head. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data, collected on traumatic brain injury (TBI) subjects by researchers at the MIND Institute of New Mexico, was acquired for the current work. Specific blunt impact TBI case histories were selected from the TBI data for further study and possible correlation with simulation. Both group and single-subject case histories were examined. We found one single-subject case that was particularly suited for correlation with simulation. Diffusion tensor image (DTI) analysis of the TBI subject identified white matter regions within the brain displaying reductions in fractional anisotropy (FA), an indicator of local damage to the white matter axonal structures. Analysis of functional magnetic resonance image (fMRI) data collected on this individual identified localized regions of the brain displaying hypoactivity, another indicator of brain injury. We conducted high fidelity simulations of head impact experienced by the TBI subject using the Sandia head-neck-torso model and the shock physics computer code CTH. Intracranial fluid cavitation predictions were compared with maps of DTI fractional anisotropy and fMRI hypoactivity to assess whether a possible correlation exists. The ultimate goal of this work is to assess whether one can correlate simulation predictions of intracranial fluid cavitation with the brain injured sites identified by the fMRI and DTI analyses. The outcome of this effort is described in this report.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2022

Correlation of Injury Simulation with Clinical Assessment of Traumatic Brain Injury

46 INSTRUMENTATION RELATED TO NUCLEAR SCIENCE AND ↗

NASA NTRS1976

Journal bearing impedance descriptions for rotordynamic applications

The paper deals with the development of analytic descriptions for plain circumferentially-symmetric fluid journal bearings, which are suitable for use in rotor dynamic analysis. The bearing impedance vector is introduced, which defines the bearing reaction force components as a function of the bearing motion. Impedances are derived directly for the Ocvirk (short) and Sommerfeld (long) bearings, and the relationships between the impedance vector and the more familiar mobility vector are developed and used to derive analytic impedance for finite-length bearings. The static correctness of the finite-length cavitating impedance is verified. Analytic stiffness and damping coefficient definitions are derived in terms of an impedance vector for small motion around an equilibrium position and demonstrated for the finite-length cavitating impedance. Nonlinear transient rotordynamic simulations are presented for the short pi and 2-pi impedances and the finite-length cavitating impedance. It is shown that finite-length impedance yields more accurate results for substantially less computer time than the short-bearing numerical-pressure-integration approach.

Childs, D.↗

NASA NTRS1932

Application of the theory of free jets

Based upon Kirchoff's theory of free jets the flow through different screen arrangements of flat plates, as chiefly encountered with turbines in the cavitation zone is defined. It is shown by experiments that these theoretical results are very well representative in most cases of the conditions of discharge from water in air and consequently by cavitation. In addition, the experiments reveal a picture of the discrepancies between the actual flow and the theory of discharge of air in air (of water in water without cavitation). These discrepancies are explained qualitatively by the mingling processes between the jets and the dead air zones.

Betz, A↗