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Published on: May 9, 2021
Turning Drops into Bubbles: Cavitation by Vapor Diffusion through Elastic Networks
M A Bruning1, M Costalonga2, J H Snoeijer1
1Physics of Fluids Group, Faculty of Science and Technology, Mesa+ Institute, University of Twente, 7500 AE Enschede, Netherlands.
Abstract:
Some members of the vegetal kingdom can achieve surprisingly fast movements making use of a clever combination of evaporation, elasticity, and cavitation. In this process, enthalpic energy is transformed into elastic energy and suddenly released in a cavitation event which produces kinetic energy. Here, we study this unusual energy transformation by a model system: A droplet in an elastic medium shrinks slowly by diffusion and eventually transforms into a bubble by a rapid cavitation event. The experiments reveal the cavity dynamics over the extremely disparate timescales of the process, spanning 9 orders of magnitude. We model the initial shrinkage as a classical diffusive process, while the sudden bubble growth and oscillations are described using an inertial-(visco)elastic model, in excellent agreement with the experiments. Such a model system could serve as a new paradigm for motile synthetic materials.
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