Parsimonious inertial cavitation rheometry via bubble collapse time

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Rheology
• Biophysics

Background:

• Characterizing soft, viscoelastic materials at high strain rates is crucial for biological and engineering applications.
• Existing inertial microcavitation rheometry (IMR) is accurate but computationally intensive and requires ultra-high-speed videography.
• Applications include tissue ablation assessment and blast injury mitigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present an improved inertial microcavitation rheometry technique, parsimonious inertial microcavitation rheometry (pIMR).
• To enable rapid and accurate characterization of viscoelastic materials.
• To reduce computational cost and reliance on ultra-high-speed imaging.

Main Methods:

• pIMR estimates laser-induced cavity collapse time within ~20 ns using experimental advancements.
• A theoretical energy balance analysis determines collapse time based on material viscoelasticity.
• The technique uses a numerical criterion to assess model selection.

Main Results:

• pIMR achieves accuracy comparable to the original IMR method.
• Computational cost is reduced from hours to seconds.
• The technique demonstrates efficacy on hydrogels and fluids.

Conclusions:

• pIMR offers a faster, more computationally efficient alternative for characterizing soft, viscoelastic materials.
• This technique facilitates near real-time material analysis.
• pIMR broadens the applicability of microcavitation rheometry.