Author(s)

M.S. Barrow, S.W.J. Brown & P.R. Williams

Abstract

We report experiments involving a technique that provides a convenient means of studying liquid jets formed by bubble collapse under cavitation-generated shockwaves. The results obtained for jets formed from multigrade oil establish that the liquid experiences a significant degree of extensional deformation at high rates of extension. The results support the conclusion that the reduced velocity and final length of such jets is due to an increased resistance to extensional flow. Insofar as the multigrade oils studied here are made viscoelastic by polymer additives and evidently possess significant levels of resistance to extension, the results provide clear evidence in support of a ‘mitigating effect’ of viscoelasticity on a cavitation damage mechanism, as mooted by Berker et al [l].

Keywords