Birth and growth of cavitation bubbles within water under tension confined in a simple synthetic tree.
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 spontaneous or triggered cavitation inside water filled microcavities of a hydrogel. Results show that a stable bubble is created in only a microsecond time scale, 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.
CNRS and Université de Grenoble, UMR 5588, Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire de Physique, Grenoble, F-38041, France.
Olivier
O
Vincent
Philippe
P
Marmottant
Pedro A
PA
Quinto-Su
Claus-Dieter
CD
Ohl