An experimentally validated cavitation inception model for spring-driven autoinjectors

Cavitation, the formation and collapse of vapor-filled bubbles, poses a problem in spring-driven autoinjectors (AIs). It occurs when the syringe accelerates abruptly during activation, causing pressure fluctuations within the liquid. These bubbles expand and then collapse, generating shock waves that can harm both the device and the drug molecules. This issue stems from the syringe's sudden acceleration when the driving rod hits the plunger. To better understand cavitation in AIs, we explore how design factors like drive spring force, air gap size, and fluid viscosity affect its likelihood and severity. We use a dynamic model for spring-driven autoinjectors to predict and analyze the factors contributing to cavitation initiation and severity. This model predicts the motion of AI components, such as the displacement and velocity of the syringe barrel, and allows us to investigate pressure wave propagation and the subsequent dynamics of cavitation under various operating conditions. We investigated different air gap heights (from 1 to 4 mm), drive spring forces (from 8 to 30 N), and drug solution viscosities (from 1 to 18 cp) to assess cavitation inception based on operational parameters. Results reveal that AI dynamics and cavitation onset and severity strongly depend upon AI operating parameters, namely drive spring force and air gap height. The maximum syringe acceleration increases with spring stiffness and decreases with air gap height; increases in air gap height prolong the time interval of syringe acceleration but diminish the maximum syringe acceleration. From actuation to injection, air gap pressure peaks twice, first due to impact with the rod/plunger and secondly due to the deacceleration event upon injection. The maximum air gap pressure increases with spring stiffness and decreases with air gap height. Results show that maximum cavitation bubble radii and collapse-driven extension rates occur with higher driver spring forces, smaller air gap heights, and less viscous solutions. A cavitation criterion is developed for cavitation in autoinjectors that concludes that cavitation in autoinjectors depends on the peak syringe acceleration.