Molecular gas dynamics analysis on condensation coefficient of vapour during gas–vapour bubble collapse

This study investigates the influence of the condensation coefficient of vapour on the collapse of a bubble composed of condensable gas (vapour) and non-condensable gas (NC gas). We simulated vapour and NC gas flow inside a bubble based on the molecular gas dynamics analysis in order to replicate the phase change (viz., evaporation and condensation) precisely, by changing the initial number density ratio of the NC gas and vapour, the initial bubble radius and the value of the condensation coefficient. The results show that the motion of the bubble is unaffected by the value of the condensation coefficient when that value is larger than approximately 0.4. We also discuss NC gas drift at the bubble wall during the final stage of the bubble collapse and its influence on the condensation coefficient. We conclude that vapour molecules can behave as NC gas molecules when the bubble collapses, owing to the large concentration of NC gas molecules at the gas–liquid interface. That is, the condensation coefficient reaches almost zero when the bubble collapses violently.