1991.05.24《New Mechanism of Cavitation Damage》

在《Science》发表的研究中，针对空化损伤机理这一长期以经验解释为主、缺乏直接微观证据的经典问题，提出了具有显著创新性的实验研究。依托表面力仪这一高精度平台，首次在纳米尺度上原位、同步观测了空穴的成核、生长与消失过程，并同时量化了相邻固体表面的弹性形变与微观损伤演化，从实验上直接建立了空化动力学与表面力学响应之间的耦合关系。更具创新性的是，该研究突破了空化损伤仅由气泡塌陷冲击主导的传统认知。通过精确调控表面分离速率并实时跟踪界面应变能的积累与释放，发现在多种实际相关条件下，材料损伤更可能发生于空穴形成及表面快速回弹阶段，其瞬态应力甚至可超过后续气泡塌陷过程。这一发现首次以直接实验证据揭示了空化成核阶段在损伤形成中的关键作用，对经典空化损伤机理进行了实质性修正与深化。总体而言，该研究以原创性的实验策略和清晰的物理图像，将空化损伤研究从宏观经验描述推进到可直接观测、可力学解析的微观机制层面，是空化物理与界面力学领域中一项影响深远、极具代表性的经典工作。

第一作者：You Lung Chen；通讯作者：Jacob Israelachvili

In a study published in Science, the authors tackled the classical problem of cavitation damage mechanisms, which had long relied primarily on empirical interpretations and lacked direct microscopic evidence, by introducing a clearly innovative experimental approach. Using the surface forces apparatus as a high-precision platform, the work for the first time enabled the in-situ and synchronous observation of cavity nucleation, growth, and disappearance at the nanometer scale, while simultaneously quantifying the elastic deformation and microscopic damage evolution of adjacent solid surfaces. This approach allowed a direct experimental linkage to be established between cavitation dynamics and surface mechanical responses. Importantly, the study revisited and refined the prevailing view that cavitation damage is governed solely by bubble collapse impacts. By precisely controlling the surface separation velocity and monitoring the accumulation and release of interfacial strain energy in real time, the authors showed that, under many practically relevant conditions, material damage is more likely to occur during cavity formation and the accompanying rapid surface recoil, with transient stresses that can exceed those generated during subsequent bubble collapse. This observation provided the first direct experimental evidence highlighting the critical role of the cavitation nucleation stage in damage formation, leading to a substantive refinement of classical cavitation damage theories. Overall, through an original experimental strategy and a well-defined physical picture, this study advanced cavitation damage research from macroscopic, experience-based descriptions to directly observable and mechanically resolvable microscopic mechanisms, and stands as an influential and representative contribution to the fields of cavitation physics and interfacial mechanics.

First Author：You Lung Chen

Corresponding Author：Jacob Israelachvili

New Mechanism of Cavitation Damage