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The pressure field of imploding lightbulbs

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Abstract

The implosion of A19 incandescent lightbulbs in a high-pressure water environment is studied in a 1.77-m-diameter steel tank. Underwater blast sensors are used to measure the dynamic pressure field near the lightbulbs and the implosions are photographed with a high-speed movie camera at a frame rate of 24,000 pps. The movie camera and the pressure signal recording system are synchronized to enable correlation of features in the movie frames with those in the pressure records. It is found that the gross dimensions and weight of the bulbs are very similar from one bulb to another, but the ambient water pressure at which a given bulb implodes (\(P_a\), called the implosion pressure) varies from 6.29 to 11.98 atmospheres, probably due to inconsistencies in the glass wall thickness and perhaps other detailed characteristics of the bulbs. The dynamic pressures (the local pressure minus \(P_a\), as measured by the sensors) first drop during the implosion and then reach a strong positive peak at about the time that the bulb reaches minimum volume. The peak dynamic pressure varies from 3.61 to 28.66 atmospheres. In order to explore the physics of the implosion process, the dynamic pressure signals are compared to calculations of the pressure field generated by the collapse of a spherical bubble in a weakly compressible liquid. The wide range of implosion pressures is used in combination with the calculations to explore the effect of the relative liquid compressibility and the bulb itself on the dynamic pressure field.

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Acknowledgments

The support of the Office of Naval Research under Grant N000140410701, Program Manager Louise Couchman, is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA

    M. Czechanowski, C. Ikeda & J. H. Duncan

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  1. M. Czechanowski
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  2. C. Ikeda
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  3. J. H. Duncan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to J. H. Duncan.

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Czechanowski, M., Ikeda, C. & Duncan, J.H. The pressure field of imploding lightbulbs. Exp Fluids 56, 64 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-015-1913-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-015-1913-y

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