Transparent PVDF-ITO Sensor and Physics-Constrained Temporal Alignment for Synchronous Characterization of Cavitation-cloud Collapse

Abstract

Synchronous characterization of cavitation-cloud collapse morphology and transient wall-impact loads is essential for elucidating cavitating-jet mechanisms and optimizing process parameters. Conventional measurement approaches suffer from optical occlusion and temporal misalignment, making it difficult to simultaneously achieve morphological visualization and high-frequency pressure acquisition. In this study, a multimodal synchronous temporal alignment method is proposed. A transparent PVDF-ITO sensor was developed, characterized by UV-visible transmittance and SHPB dynamic calibration, and integrated into the observation window to enable in situ acquisition of both cavitation morphology and wall-impact response signals. In addition, a physics-constrained temporal-alignment algorithm was developed to identify collapse-related features and assess alignment reliability using multiple validation criteria. The experiments show that the system achieves microsecond-level synchronization accuracy. Under the optimal time shift, the verification matching rate (VMR), causality-criterion pass rate, and peak matching rate are 96.6%, 100.0%, and 96.7%, respectively. The response signal exhibited a stable nonlinear structure, with a maximum Lyapunov exponent of 0.125 2, consistent with the multiscale behavior observed in the optical measurements. This method establishes a reliable link between cavitation morphology and impact load, providing a practical basis for investigating complex cavitation dynamics and optimizing cavitating-jet processes.

Keywords

Cavitation-cloud collapse / Transparent PVDF-ITO sensor / Temporal alignment / Multimodal synchronization

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