A volume-adaptive mesh-free model for FSI Simulation of cavitation erosion with bubble collapse

Cavitation erosion is a pervasive issue in hydraulic machinery and ocean engineering, characterized by the collapse of bubbles, micro-jetting, and impact erosion, all exhibiting strong transient, microscale, and fluid–solid coupling features. Understanding these phenomena is essential for elucidating the mechanisms behind erosion and for developing strategies to prevent wear damage. Recognizing the limitations of conventional numerical methods, this study employs the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) method to develop a fluid–solid coupling model that simulates cavitation erosion at the bubble scale. The Lagrangian and mesh-free nature of SPH make it well-suited for tracking the transient processes of asymmetric bubble collapse, jet formation, and the subsequent impact on elastic–plastic materials. A comprehensive fluid–solid coupling SPH model is constructed, encompassing bubbles, surrounding liquids, and elastic–plastic materials. This model includes a compressible multiphase SPH approach for simulating the interaction between highly compressible bubbles and liquids. To address gas phase over-compression during bubble collapse, a modified particle regeneration technique (PRT) is introduced, allowing for automatic adjustment of particle resolution in the gas domain as it expands or compresses. For the solid simulation, an elasto-plastic constitutive model and a failure model are integrated into the SPH framework to describe material deformation and failure due to microjet impacts. These enhancements enable the simulation of the entire cavitation erosion process within a unified, mesh-free context. The SPH model is validated through simulating bubble collapse and jetting induced by shock waves. It is then applied to investigate the dynamics of cavitation erosion near both rigid and elastic–plastic materials, providing quantitative analysis of the erosion process. The outcomes of this research contribute significantly to our understanding of cavitation erosion mechanisms and offer a robust computational tool for predicting and mitigating erosion damage in related engineering applications.