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Updated: Jul 16, 2026

Activating Molecules, Ions, and Solid Particles with Acoustic Cavitation
Published on: April 11, 2014
Inhibition of nonlinear acoustic cavitation dynamics in liquid CO2
Maikel M van Iersel1, Jeroen Cornel, Nieck E Benes
1Process Development Group, Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry, Eindhoven University of Technology, P.O. Box 513, 5600 MB Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
The authors present a model to study ultrasound-induced cavitation dynamics in liquid carbon dioxide (CO(2)), which includes descriptions for momentum, mass, and energy transport. To assist in the interpretation of these results, numerical simulations are presented for an argon cavity in water. For aqueous systems, inertia effects and force accumulation lead to a nonlinear radial motion, resulting in an almost adiabatic compression of the cavity interior. The simulations for liquid CO(2) suggest that transport limitations impede nonlinear cavitation dynamics and the corresponding temperature rise. Consequently, in liquid CO(2) the ultrasound-induced formation of radicals appears improbable.
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