Abstract

The results of numerical calculations of water-droplet explosions initiated by intense CO₂-laser radiation are presented. The theoretical model for this process is based on the solution of the value of the thermal-boundary problem in an inhomogeneously heated droplet, including the kinetic equation describing vapor generation in a superheated liquid. The main characteristics of droplet explosions (e.g., degree of explosive evaporation and time of explosion) are calculated. It is established that these characteristics depend on the heating rate of the droplet and on its radius. The results point to the fact that two droplet-heating regimes can be distinguished—slow heating and rapid heating—based on the behavior of the explosive boiling process. This division represents the competition of real physical processes in an irradiated droplet and makes it possible to separate the basic, specific features of the explosion process.

© 1994 Optical Society of America

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