Supersonic jet dynamics from two-cavitation-bubble interactions: acceleration, tip fragmentation and penetration

This study experimentally and numerically investigates the dynamics of a high-speed liquid jet generated from the interaction of two tandem cavitation bubbles, termed bubble 1 and bubble 2, depending on their generation sequence. Although the overall collapse pattern and jet orientation are well documented, the underlying mechanisms for supersonic jet acceleration, tip fragmentation and subsequent penetration remain to be elucidated. In our experiments, two near-identical, highly energised cavitation bubbles were generated using an underwater electric discharge method, and their transient interactions were captured using a high-speed camera. We identify three distinct jet regimes that emerge from the tip of bubble 2: conical, umbrella-shaped and spraying jets, characterised by variations in the initial bubble–bubble distance (denoted as $\gamma$ ) and the initiation time difference (denoted as $\theta$ ). Our numerical simulations using both volume of fluid and boundary integral methods reproduce the experimental observations quite well and explain the mechanism of jet acceleration. We show that the transition between the regimes is governed by the spatio-temporal characteristics of the pressure wave induced by the collapse of bubble 1, which impacts the high-curvature tip of bubble 2. Specifically, a conical jet forms when the pressure wave impacts the bubble tip prior to its contraction, while an umbrella-shaped jet develops when this impact occurs after the contraction. The spraying jets result from the breakup of the bubble tip, exhibiting mist-like and needle-like morphologies with velocities ranging from 10 to over 1200 m s −1 . Remarkably, we observe that the penetration distance of spraying jets exceeds ten times the maximum bubble radius, making them ideal for long-range, controlled fluid delivery. Finally, phase diagrams for jet velocity and penetration distance in the $\gamma -\theta$ parameter space are established to provide a practical reference for biomedical applications, such as needle-free injection and micro-pumping.