Hydrodynamic cavitation in micro systems is a fundamental engineering problem that is poorly understood. The lack of knowledge on cavitation relevant to MEMS devices is impeding the practical realization of novel high-velocity microfluidic machines. This paper divulges differences between cavitation occurring inside micro and conventional systems, and also indicates the limited applicability of conventional knowledge to predict and understand cavitating flows in micro-domains. A detailed discussion delineating the possible reasons of such a divergence is presented in this article. Additionally, selected results obtained from preliminary experiments on cavitation in micro-domains are presented.

This content is only available via PDF.
You do not currently have access to this content.