Mechanism of the laser-induced capillary effect revealed by numerical simulation

Dats E.P., Guzev M.A., Vassilevski Y.V., Chodnovsky V.M.
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For the first time, numerical modeling has determined the mechanism of the initiated-by-cavitation rise of the liquid level in tubes and capillaries, known as the laser-induced optocapillary effect, as well as its analogues — the acoustocapillary and plasmocapillary effects. It is shown that the key condition for the occurrence of the liquid rise is the asymmetric collapse of a single relatively large cavitation bubble inside a vertically oriented tube or capillary. The proximity of boundaries (the tube wall, the fiber optic tip, and others) disrupts the spherical symmetry of the bubble during its collapse, leading to the appearance of a liquid flow that rolls up into a long-lived toroidal vortex ring. Due to viscous entrainment of the surrounding medium, the vortex generates a directed liquid flow upward and also ensures the suction of a new portion of liquid through the open lower end of the tube. The simulation results show that the characteristic lifetime of the toroidal vortex significantly exceeds the duration of the growth and collapse stages of the cavitation bubble that generated it. It is demonstrated that the rise of the liquid level in the tube does not begin at the moment of bubble expansion, but after its complete disappearance, and continues over a relatively long period due to the inertia of the vortex motion. This result is in complete agreement with experimental data, confirming the validity of the proposed mechanism.

The study investigated the practically significant configuration of the laser-induced optocapillary effect using an optical fiber. This configuration opens broad prospects for technical and medical applications, particularly in laser surgery. The investigated mechanism can be used to create cavitation pumps — effective tools for cleaning technical surfaces and wound surfaces, where the process of removing damaged tissue and foreign bodies due to thermal exposure will be accompanied by the removal of debris through the tube, significantly increasing the efficiency and safety of the procedure.

The obtained results represent the first consistent explanation for a class of cavitation-induced capillary phenomena and create a foundation for their controlled application in biomedical and microfluidic technologies.

Keywords: cavitation, laser, numerical simulation, multiphase medium, vaporization
Citation in English: Dats E.P., Guzev M.A., Vassilevski Y.V., Chodnovsky V.M. Mechanism of the laser-induced capillary effect revealed by numerical simulation // Computer Research and Modeling, 2026, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 643-657
Citation in English: Dats E.P., Guzev M.A., Vassilevski Y.V., Chodnovsky V.M. Mechanism of the laser-induced capillary effect revealed by numerical simulation // Computer Research and Modeling, 2026, vol. 18, no. 3, pp. 643-657
DOI: 10.20537/2076-7633-2026-18-3-643-657
URL: http://crm-en.ics.org.ru/journal/article/3737/
Creative Commons License This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Copyright © 2026 Dats E.P., Guzev M.A., Vassilevski Y.V., Chodnovsky V.M.

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