Cavitation Dynamics on Laser-Textured Surfaces

This study examines hydrodynamic cavitation behavior on laser-textured surfaces. Cavitation dynamics was investigated on stainless steel cylinders with 10 mm in diameter. Their surfaces were modified by direct laser texturing (DLT) with a nanosecond fiber laser (wavelength of 1060 nm). A highly-polished cylinder was used as a reference. Cavitation characteristics behind circular cylinders were monitored simultaneously by high-speed visualization and high frequency pressure transducer. Comparison at similar cavitation numbers proves, that cavitation characteristics differ significantly between different micro-structured surfaces. In some cases, cavitation extent decrease in comparison with reference – a highly polished cylinder.