Difference frequency and its harmonic emitted by microbubbles under dual frequency excitation

Vibro-acoustography is an elasticity imaging method that uses two ultrasound beams of slightly different frequency to excite an object and detects the resulting acoustic emission (AE) at the difference frequency. This method is especially sensitive to bubbles due to their nonlinearity. This study explores the harmonic acoustic emission (HAE) at twice the difference frequency emitted from bubbles. A perturbation method based on the dynamic bubble equation is used to derive the AE and HAE from a single bubble excited by dual frequency waves. Simulation shows that HAE is generated only by microbubbles whose resonant frequencies match the incident ultrasound frequencies. In contrast, AE is more sensitive to resonance at the difference frequency, which is relevant to sub-millimeter bubbles. This finding was confirmed by experiments where HAE was produced from Optison microbubbles, but not from larger air bubbles which are off resonance at the incident ultrasound frequency. In conclusion, harmonic acoustic emission is present for microbubbles. It is very sensitive to the size of the bubble and may be used for selective detection of microbubbles.     

Effects of medium viscoelasticity on bubble collapse strength of interacting polydisperse bubbles

Due to its physical and/or chemical effects, acoustic cavitation plays a crucial role in various emerging applications ranging from advanced materials to biomedicine. The cavitation bubbles usually undergo oscillatory dynamics and violent collapse within a viscoelastic medium, which are closely related to the cavitation-associated effects. However, the role of medium viscoelasticity on the cavitation dynamics has received little attention, especially for the bubble collapse strength during multi-bubble cavitation with the complex interactions between size polydisperse bubbles. In this study, modified Gilmore equations accounting for inter-bubble interactions were coupled with the Zener viscoelastic model to simulate the dynamics of multi-bubble cavitation in viscoelastic media. Results showed that the cavitation dynamics (e.g., acoustic resonant response, nonlinear oscillation behavior and bubble collapse strength) of differently-sized bubbles depend differently on the medium viscoelasticity and each bubble is affected by its neighboring bubbles to a different degree. More specifically, increasing medium viscosity drastically dampens the bubble dynamics and weakens the bubble collapse strength, while medium elasticity mainly affects the bubble resonance at which the bubble collapse strength is maximum. Differently-sized bubbles can achieve resonances and even subharmonic resonances at high driving acoustic pressures as the elasticity changes to certain values, and the resonance frequency of each bubble increases with the elasticity increasing. For the interactions between the size polydisperse bubbles, it indicated that the largest bubble generally has a dominant effect on the dynamics of smaller ones while in turn it is almost unaffected, exhibiting a pattern of destructive and constructive interactions. This study provides a valuable insight into the acoustic cavitation dynamics of multiple interacting polydisperse bubbles in viscoelastic media, which may offer a potential of controlling the medium viscoelasticity to appropriately manipulate the dynamics of multi-bubble cavitation for achieving proper cavitation effects according to the desired application.     

Interaction between moving bubbles and an acoustic field: Controlling flows and nonlinear acoustic vision

Results from studying the interaction between gas bubbles and the field of a flow-through acoustic resonator, and the Raman scattering of acoustic waves by moving bubbles, are presented. The structure of the distribution of bubble concentration in the resonator is studied. It is shown that nonlinear scattering by moving bubbles can be used to image bubble objects.     

Breaking wind waves as a source of ambient noise

A theoretical model for the prediction of ambient noise level due to collective oscillations of air bubbles under breaking wind waves is presented. The model uses a budget of the energy flux from the breaking waves to quantify acoustic power radiation by a bubble cloud. A shift of the noise spectra to lower frequency due to collective bubble oscillation is assumed. The model derives good estimates of the magnitude, slope, and frequency range of the noise spectra using the wind speed or height of breaking waves.     

Effect of static pressure on acoustic energy radiated by cavitation bubbles in viscous liquids under ultrasound

The effect of static pressure on acoustic emissions including shock-wave emissions from cavitation bubbles in viscous liquids under ultrasound has been studied by numerical simulations in order to investigate the effect of static pressure on dispersion of nano-particles in liquids by ultrasound. The results of the numerical simulations for bubbles of 5 μm in equilibrium radius at 20 kHz have indicated that the optimal static pressure which maximizes the energy of acoustic waves radiated by a bubble per acoustic cycle increases as the acoustic pressure amplitude increases or the viscosity of the solution decreases. It qualitatively agrees with the experimental results by Sauter et al. [Ultrason. Sonochem. 15, 517 (2008)]. In liquids with relatively high viscosity (～200 mPa s), a bubble collapses more violently than in pure water when the acoustic pressure amplitude is relatively large (～20 bar). In a mixture of bubbles of different equilibrium radius (3 and 5 μm), the acoustic energy radiated by a 5 μm bubble is much larger than that by a 3 μm bubble due to the interaction with bubbles of different equilibrium radius. The acoustic energy radiated by a 5 μm bubble is substantially increased by the interaction with 3 μm bubbles.     

两种气泡混合的声空化

将非线性声波方程和改进的Rayleigh-Plesset方程联立可以描述空化环境中的声场及相应的气泡动力学特征. 用时域有限差分方法模拟了圆柱形容器内两种气泡相互混合时的空化情况. 在烧杯内的稳态背景声场形成过程中, 瓶壁耗散吸收扮演了重要的角色. 在稳态背景声场的基础上, 分析了混合气泡与声场的相互作用、气泡之间的相互作用、混合情况下的频谱特性. 结果表明: 两种气泡平衡半径都不太大时, 气泡与声场的相互作用不强, 声场及气泡的行为也比较规律; 相反, 当其中一种气泡平衡半径相对比较大时, 声场与气泡具有较强的非线性相互作用, 声场及气泡的行为表现出复杂的特性.     

Bubbles in an acoustic field: an overview

Acoustic cavitation is the fundamental process responsible for the initiation of most of the sonochemical reactions in liquids. Acoustic cavitation originates from the interaction between sound waves and bubbles. In an acoustic field, bubbles can undergo growth by rectified diffusion, bubble-bubble coalescence, bubble dissolution or bubble collapse leading to the generation of primary radicals and other secondary chemical reactions. Surface active solutes have been used in association with a number of experimental techniques in order to isolate and understand these activities. A strobe technique has been used for monitoring the growth of a single bubble by rectified diffusion. Multibubble sonoluminescence has been used for monitoring the growth of the bubbles as well as coalescence between bubbles. The extent of bubble coalescence has also been monitored using a newly developed capillary technique. An overview of the various experimental results has been presented in order to highlight the complexities involved in acoustic cavitation processes, which on the other hand arise from a simple, mechanical interaction between sound waves and bubbles.     

Nonlinear oscillation and acoustic scattering of bubbles

The scattered acoustic pressure and scattered cross section of bubbles is studied using the scattered theory of bubbles. The nonlinear oscillations of bubbles and the scattering acoustic fields of a spherical bubble cluster are numerically simulated based on the bubble dynamic and fluid dynamic. The influences of the interaction between bubbles on scattering acoustic field of bubbles are researched. The results of numerical simulation show that the oscillation phases of bubbles are delayed to a certain extent at different positions in the bubble cluster, but the radii of bubbles during oscillation do not differ too much at different positions. Furthermore, directivity of the acoustic scattering of bubbles is obvious. The scattered acoustic pressures of bubbles are different at the different positions inside and outside of the bubble cluster. The scattering acoustic fields of a spherical bubble cluster depend on the driving pressure amplitude, driving frequency, the equilibrium radii of bubbles, bubble number and the radius of the spherical bubble cluster. These theoretical predictions provide a further understanding of physics behind ultrasonic technique and should be useful for guiding ultrasonic application.     

球状泡群内气泡的耦合振动

振动气泡形成辐射场影响其他气泡的运动, 故多气泡体系中气泡处于耦合振动状态. 本文在气泡群振动模型的基础上, 考虑气泡间耦合振动的影响, 得到了均匀球状泡群内振动气泡的动力学方程, 以此为基础分析了气泡的非线性声响应特征. 气泡间的耦合振动增加了系统对每个气泡的约束, 降低了气泡的自然共振频率, 增强了气泡的非线性声响应. 随着气泡数密度的增加, 振动气泡受到的抑制增强; 增加液体静压力同样可抑制泡群内气泡的振动, 且存在静压力敏感区(1–2 atm, 1 atm=1.01325×10⁵ Pa); 驱动声波对气泡振动影响很大, 随着声波频率的增加, 能够形成空化影响的气泡尺度范围变窄. 在同样的声条件、泡群尺寸以及气泡内外环境下, 初始半径小于5 μm 的气泡具有较强的声响应. 气泡耦合振动会削弱单个气泡的空化影响, 但可延长多气泡系统空化泡崩溃发生的时间间隔和增大作用范围, 整体空化效应增强.     

Detonation waves in bubble-drop media

Wave processes in chemically active multicomponent media: liquid — gas bubbles — liquid drops have been studied experimentally. Existence of detonation waves in multicomponent (bubble-drop) media has been proved. Structure of detonation waves in bubble-drop and bubble media is qualitatively identical: detonation waves are solitary waves with pulsation profile the pressure behind which is close in value to the one in unperturbed medium. Propagation velocity of detonation waves in bubble and bubble-drop media drops with the increase in medium gas phase concentration and with the decrease in carrier liquid viscosity. Presence of liquid drops decreases detonation wave velocity compared with bubble medium that does not contain liquid drops. Detonation wave propagation in multicomponent media causes gas bubbles fragmentation as well as fragmentation of individual liquid drops. The work was financially supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Grant No. 04-03-33106).