CAVITATION GENERATOR AND RELATED ASPECTS

A cavitation generator for inducing hydrodynamic cavitation in a liquid comprises a piston housing with a cylindrical cavitation chamber 14, a hollow magnetic piston 18 having at least one aperture 20 via which a liquid held within the cavitation chamber 14 passes through the piston as the piston 18 moves along the cavitation chamber 14 and at least two electromagnetic coils 22a, 22b provided at each end of the piston housing 12, the at least two electromagnetic coils 22a, 22b being configured to generate an electromagnetic force which drives the piston 18 to move bi-directionally along the longitudinal axis 24 of the cavitation chamber 14. As the piston 18 is driven along the cavitation chamber 14, liquid held in the cavitation chamber 14 is accelerated as a jet through the aperture 20 of the piston 18. The liquid jet together with shockwaves caused by the rapid deceleration of the piston as it collides with each end of the cavitation chamber cause hydrodynamic cavitation in the liquid. The cavitation generator is particularly suitable for homogenising small samples of liquids. The use of only one moving part, the piston 18 within the cavitation chamber 14 makes it very simple to clean and the volume of liquid contained within the cavitation chamber 14 may be small enough for laboratory use.