Why is the tensile strength of water measured dynamically less than that measured statically?

doi:10.1088/0022-3727/20/8/018

Why is the tensile strength of water measured dynamically less than that measured statically?

Author

H N V Temperley and D H Trevena

Affiliations

Dept. of Math., Univ. Coll., Swansea, UK

Journal

Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics Create an alert RSS this journal

Issue

Volume 20, Number 8

Citation

H N V Temperley and D H Trevena 1987 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 20 1080

doi: 10.1088/0022-3727/20/8/018

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Abstract

The tensile strength of water measured dynamically is less than that measured statically. It is claimed that this anomaly, which has been known for a long time, can be accounted for if one assumes that the transition layer at the free surface of a liquid contains a region for which the effective velocity of sound is very small. This region should be a source of cavitation nuclei, thus lowering the tensile strength. The hydrodynamics of reflection of pressure pulses by such a region are investigated and the imperfect reflection of pressure pulses by the free surface observed by Sedgewick and Trevena (1976) can be explained on the same hypothesis.

PACS

62.10.+s Mechanical properties of liquids

47.85.Dh Hydrodynamics, hydraulics, hydrostatics

62.60.+v Acoustical properties of liquids

Subjects