Recent theories of cavitation damage including non-symmetrical bubble collapse effects

Theories of cavitation damage mechanisms are discussed. Photographic evidence has shown that the actual collapse of bubbles near a symmetry-destroying feature such as a nearby wall results in a toroidal-like collapse, with the final generation of a liquid microjet oriented toward the wall. Numerical analyses indicate that the shock wave intensity emitted during collapse is not likely to be strong enough to be damaging to most materials. It has been determined that actual damage is usually a result of a combination of impact effect of the microjet and the shock wave pressures generated by bubble rebounds.