Cavitation inception pressure and bubble cloud formation due to the backscattering of high-intensity focused ultrasound from a laser-induced bubble.

Cavitation bubble cloud formation due to the backscattering of high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) from a laser-induced bubble in various water temperatures and dissolved oxygen (DO) has been investigated. A laser-induced bubble generated near the geometrical focus of HIFU is utilized to yield intense negative pressure by the backscattering. Optical observation with a high-speed video camera and pressure measurement with a fiber-optic probe hydrophone are conducted simultaneously to understand the forming process of a bubble cloud and corresponding pressure field by the backscattering.

Shock wave-bubble interaction near soft and rigid boundaries during lithotripsy: numerical analysis by the improved ghost fluid method.

In the case of extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL), a shock wave-bubble interaction inevitably occurs near the focusing point of stones, resulting in stone fragmentation and subsequent tissue damage. Because shock wave-bubble interactions are high-speed phenomena occurring in tissue consisting of various media with different acoustic impedance values, numerical analysis is an effective method for elucidating the mechanism of these interactions. However, the mechanism has not been examined in detail because, at present, numerical simulations capable of incorporating the acoustic impedance of various tissues do not exist.

Numerical simulations of bubble motion in a vibrated cell under microgravity using level set and VOF algorithms.

Understanding the stability of fluid interfaces subjected to small vibrations under microgravity conditions is important for designing future materials science experiments to be conducted aboard orbiting spacecraft. During the STS-85 mission, experiments investigating the motion of a large bubble resulting from small, controlled vibrations were performed aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. To better understand the experimental results, two-and three-dimensional simulations of the experiment were performed using level set and volume-of-fluid interface tracking algorithms.