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Scaling law for ventilation of a near-liquid-surface bubble induced by Rayleigh–Taylor instability

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 April 2026

Jianlin Huang Open the ORCID record for Jianlin Huang [Opens in a new window] ,
Guanghang Wang ,
Tianqing You ,
Guangyi Song Open the ORCID record for Guangyi Song [Opens in a new window] ,
Jingzhu Wang Open the ORCID record for Jingzhu Wang [Opens in a new window]  and
Yiwei Wang Open the ORCID record for Yiwei Wang [Opens in a new window]
Jianlin Huang
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory for Mechanics in Fluid Solid Coupling Systems, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, PR China School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China
Guanghang Wang
Affiliation:
Beijing Institute of Astronautical Systems Engineering, Beijing 100076, PR China
Tianqing You
Affiliation:
Beijing Institute of Astronautical Systems Engineering, Beijing 100076, PR China
Guangyi Song
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory for Mechanics in Fluid Solid Coupling Systems, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, PR China School of Engineering Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China
Jingzhu Wang*
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory for Mechanics in Fluid Solid Coupling Systems, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, PR China School of Engineering Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China
Yiwei Wang*
Affiliation:
Key Laboratory for Mechanics in Fluid Solid Coupling Systems, Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, PR China School of Future Technology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China School of Engineering Science, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, PR China
*
Corresponding authors: Jingzhu Wang, wangjingzhu@imech.ac.cn; Yiwei Wang, wangyw@imech.ac.cn
Corresponding authors: Jingzhu Wang, wangjingzhu@imech.ac.cn; Yiwei Wang, wangyw@imech.ac.cn
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Abstract

Interfacial instability dominates the dynamics as a cavitation bubble oscillates in close proximity to a liquid surface, driving perturbations on both the bubble wall and the liquid surface. The penetration of the liquid layer initiates ventilation, exposing the bubble interior and thereby altering its subsequent dynamics. To quantitatively elucidate the interfacial coupling-induced instability, we develop a theoretical model that couples the perturbation equation with the bubble oscillation equation, considering the liquid viscosity. The model predicts the transition boundaries between ventilation patterns by critical stand-off parameters, which scale exponentially with the liquid viscosity to the −1/3 power. The boundary between complete and partial ventilation regimes shows negligible viscous dependence due to the vanishingly short perturbation growth time. Furthermore, we derive the scaling law of ventilation time, defining it as the instant of perturbation penetration. A series of experiments on bubble oscillation near a liquid surface was conducted, which verified the predictions of the theoretical model. This offers a practical framework for the engineering application of near-surface bubble collapse.

JFM classification

Drops and Bubbles: Bubble dynamics Drops and Bubbles: Cavitation

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Type
JFM Rapids
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Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 1034 , 10 May 2026 , R1
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

†

This article has been updated since original publication. A notice detailing the change has been published.

‡

Jingzhu Wang and Yiwei Wang contributed equally to this work.

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