Acoustic manifestations of gas hydrate shelled bubbles

The hydrocarbon seeps emitting buoyant bubble plumes from seafloor vents—gas flares have been actively investigated in different regions of the World Ocean, in particular, on the Sakhalin slope in the Sea of Okhotsk. The gas flares can be easily detected by regular echo sounders, because the scattering cross section of a gas bubble is large. Within the gas-hydrate stability zone—for high hydrostatic pressures and low temperatures, methane-hydrate ice skins are formed on rising seep bubbles which are typically methane. The objective of the present study was to develop a suitable model describing rheological characteristics of gas-hydrate shell and to analyze acoustic manifestations of such bubbles for the frequency range used in marine field experiments.     

Reproducible cavitation activity in water-particle suspensions

The study of cavitation inception in liquids rarely yields reproducible data, unless special control is taken on the cleanliness of the experimental environment. In this paper, an experimental technique is demonstrated which allows repeatable measurements of cavitation activity in liquid-particle suspensions. In addition, the method is noninvasive: cavitation bubbles are generated using a shock-wave generator, and they are photographed using a digital camera. The cavitation activity is obtained after suitable image processing steps. From these measurements, the importance of the particle's surface structure and its chemical composition is revealed, with polystyrene and polyamide particles generating the highest yields. Further findings are that cavitation nuclei become depleted with an increasing number of experiments, and the existence of nuclei with varying negative pressure thresholds. Finally, a decrease of the cavitation yield is achieved by prepressurization of the suspension-indicating that the cavitation nuclei are gaseous.     

Studies of the ocean-bottom reflection coefficient at angles of total internal reflection

For practical-purpose studies in underwater acoustics, a new method is proposed to determine the bottom reflection coefficient on the basis of multiple bottom-surface reflections. The method allows one to obtain the angular dependence of the bottom reflection coefficient at grazing angles from several degrees to several tens of degrees in the audio and infrasonic frequency bands. The sound field structure is studied in deep-water regions of the Black (2000 m) and Arabian (4000 m) seas at frequencies within 10–400 Hz. For the regions under investigation, the frequency-angular dependence of the reflection coefficient is obtained with the use of the proposed method. The data for the Black Sea are compared with those provided by the conventional method based on the use of single and double bottom and bottom-surface reflections. Experimental data on the values and variations of the bottom reflection coefficient are presented for different deepwater and shallow-water regions of the World Ocean. The presence of shear waves in the bottom sediments is revealed, and the effect of these waves on the frequency-angular dependence of the reflection coefficient is demonstrated.     

Conditions for Separation Rays by Their Arrival Time at Large Distances and Low Frequencies

Acoustical Physics - Abstract—The results of experimental studies on the propagation of low-frequency pulsed signals in deep- and shallow-water areas of the World Ocean are presented....     

Mesoscale spatial variability in seawater cavitation thresholds

The paper presents the spatial variability of cavitation thresholds and some hydrological and hydrochemical parameters of seawater in the interfrontal zone of the Pacific Subarctic Front, in the Drake Passage, and in the equatorial part of the Pacific Ocean, measured in the near-surface layer to a depth of 70 m.     

Acoustic cavitation inception

This article presents a selective review of the subject of acoustic cavitation inception. Topics covered include cavitation threshold measurements, the role of dirt or pre-existing bubble nuclei in cavitation inception, radiation-induced acoustic cavitation, and a discussion of some unsolved problems such as cavitation thresholds in liquid helium and the effects of electric fields on thresholds.     

Investigation of atmospheric aerosols based on polarization measurements and scattering simulations

For an ongoing project involving ocean color and temperature scanner and polarization and directionary of the earth’s reflectance onboard the advanced earth observing satellite, the radiance and degree of polarization of atmospheric aerosols were measured with a portable photopolarimeter (FPR2000) at wavelengths of 0.559, 0.760 and 0.811 μm. The observations were undertaken over the ocean around Shikoku Island of Japan on clear days with few clouds in July, 1995. The measurements were compared with simulations of polarization fields. This work also describes retrieval algorithms for aerosols. It is shown that: (1) the radiance decreases with wavelength, (2) oceanic type aerosols are available to evaluate the degree of polarization over the Pacific Ocean, and (3) polarization data in the Seto Inland Sea are explained by a water-soluble aerosol model.     

Sound field measurement in a double layer cavitation cluster by rugged miniature needle hydrophones

During multi-bubble cavitation the bubbles tend to organize themselves into clusters and thus the understanding of properties and dynamics of clustering is essential for controlling technical applications of cavitation. Sound field measurements are a potential technique to provide valuable experimental information about the status of cavitation clouds. Using purpose-made, rugged, wide band, and small-sized needle hydrophones, sound field measurements in bubble clusters were performed and time-dependent sound pressure waveforms were acquired and analyzed in the frequency domain up to 20 MHz. The cavitation clusters were synchronously observed by an electron multiplying charge-coupled device (EMCCD) camera and the relation between the sound field measurements and cluster behaviour was investigated. Depending on the driving power, three ranges could be identified and characteristic properties were assigned. At low power settings no transient and no or very low stable cavitation activity can be observed. The medium range is characterized by strong pressure peaks and various bubble cluster forms. At high power a stable double layer was observed which grew with further increasing power and became quite dynamic. The sound field was irregular and the fundamental at driving frequency decreased. Between the bubble clouds completely different sound field properties were found in comparison to those in the cloud where the cavitation activity is high. In between the sound field pressure amplitude was quite small and no collapses were detected.     

Vertical variability of sound fields produced by underwater explosions at difference distances from the source

To determine the spatial variability of sound fields in the Black Sea, correlation of multipath signals received by vertically separated hydrophones is investigated. The signals are produced by underwater explosions of trinitrotoluene charges. Dependence of the sound field variability on the distance to the source of sound is analyzed for the case of the corresponding points positioned near the sound channel axis. Conditions necessary for estimating the distance to the pulsed sound source are considered. Results of full-scale experiments in the Black Sea are presented and compared with the data obtained from the experiments in the Pacific Ocean near Kamchatka.     

Superstability of surface nanobubbles

Shock wave induced cavitation experiments and atomic force microscopy measurements of flat polyamide and hydrophobized silicon surfaces immersed in water are performed. It is shown that surface nanobubbles, present on these surfaces, do not act as nucleation sites for cavitation bubbles, in contrast to the expectation. This implies that surface nanobubbles are not just stable under ambient conditions but also under enormous reduction of the liquid pressure down to -6 MPa. We denote this feature as superstability.     

Investigation of noninertial cavitation produced by an ultrasonic horn

This paper reports on noninertial cavitation that occurs beyond the zone close to the horn tip to which the inertial cavitation is confined. The noninertial cavitation is characterized by collating the data from a range of measurements of bubbles trapped on a solid surface in this noninertial zone. Specifically, the electrochemical measurement of mass transfer to an electrode is compared with high-speed video of the bubble oscillation. This gas bubble is shown to be a "noninertial" event by electrochemical surface erosion measurements and "ring-down" experiments showing the activity and motion of the bubble as the sound excitation was terminated. These measurements enable characterization of the complex environment produced below an operating ultrasonic horn outside of the region where inertial collapse can be detected. The extent to which solid boundaries in the liquid cause the frequencies and shapes of oscillatory modes on the bubble wall to differ from their free field values is discussed.     

Experimental investigation of the spatial distribution of the intensity of cavitational processes

We propose an experimental method for distant measurements of the spatial distribution of cavitation intensity. The experimental results are obtained by investigating cavitation on a rigid cylinder and thin wires. The possibility of attaining a higher spatial resolution is shown.Lobachevskii State University, Nizhny Novgorod. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 38, Nos. 3–4, pp. 337-xxx, March–April, 1995.     

Characterization of HIFU transducers designed for sonochemistry application: Cavitation distribution and quantification

Acoustic field distribution was determined in HIFU sonoreactors as well as localization of cavitation activity by crossing different techniques: modeling, hydrophone measurements, laser tomography and SCL measurements. Particular care was taken with quantification of this last technique by pixels or photon counting. Cavitation bubbles generated by HIFU are mainly located on the outer layer of the propagation cone in the post-focal zone. Greatest acoustic activity is not located at the geometrical focal, but corresponds to a high concentration of bubbles zone. On the contrary, the main sonochemical activity shifts slightly toward the transducer, whereas quenching of inertial cavitation is observed directly at the focal. Finally, SCL thresholds have been determined.     

Modulation instability of long internal waves with moderate amplitudes in a stratified horizontally inhomogeneous ocean

It has been shown that the known effect of the modulation instability of wavepackets can occur for long internal waves with a moderate amplitude in a stratified horizontally inhomogeneous ocean under certain conditions on the vertical structure of the density field and flows. The numerical calculations that have been performed for the transformation of wavepackets in some regions of the World Ocean indicate the possibility of the appearance of rogue waves in the bulk of the Ocean.     

Quantitative measurements of acoustic emissions from cavitation at the surface of a stone in response to a lithotripter shock wave

Measurements are presented of acoustic emissions from cavitation collapses on the surface of a synthetic kidney stone in response to shock waves (SWs) from an electrohydraulic lithotripter. A fiber optic probe hydrophone was used for pressure measurements, and passive cavitation detection was used to identify acoustic emissions from bubble collapse. At a lithotripter charging voltage of 20 kV, the focused SW incident on the stone surface resulted in a peak pressure of 43 +/- 6 MPa compared to 23 +/- 4 MPa in the free field. The focused SW incident upon the stone appeared to be enhanced due to the acoustic emissions from the forced cavitation collapse of the preexisting bubbles. The peak pressure of the acoustic emission from a bubble collapse was 34 +/- 15 MPa, that is, the same magnitude as the SWs incident on the stone. These data indicate that stresses induced by focused SWs and cavitation collapses are similar in magnitude thus likely play a similar role in stone fragmentation.     

Towards an understanding and control of cavitation activity in 1 MHz ultrasound fields

Various industrial processes such as sonochemical processing and ultrasonic cleaning strongly rely on the phenomenon of acoustic cavitation. As the occurrence of acoustic cavitation is incorporating a multitude of interdependent effects, the amount of cavitation activity in a vessel is strongly depending on the ultrasonic process conditions. It is therefore crucial to quantify cavitation activity as a function of the process parameters. At 1 MHz, the active cavitation bubbles are so small that it is becoming difficult to observe them in a direct way. Hence, another metrology based on secondary effects of acoustic cavitation is more suitable to study cavitation activity. In this paper we present a detailed analysis of acoustic cavitation phenomena at 1 MHz ultrasound by means of time-resolved measurements of sonoluminescence, cavitation noise, and synchronized high-speed stroboscopic Schlieren imaging. It is shown that a correlation exists between sonoluminescence, and the ultraharmonic and broadband signals extracted from the cavitation noise spectra. The signals can be utilized to characterize different regimes of cavitation activity at different acoustic power densities. When cavitation activity sets on, the aforementioned signals correlate to fluctuations in the Schlieren contrast as well as the number of nucleated bubbles extracted from the Schlieren Images. This additionally proves that signals extracted from cavitation noise spectra truly represent a measure for cavitation activity. The cyclic behavior of cavitation activity is investigated and related to the evolution of the bubble populations in the ultrasonic tank. It is shown that cavitation activity is strongly linked to the occurrence of fast-moving bubbles. The origin of this “bubble streamers” is investigated and their role in the initialization and propagation of cavitation activity throughout the sonicated liquid is discussed. Finally, it is shown that bubble activity can be stabilized and enhanced by the use of pulsed ultrasound by conserving and recycling active bubbles between subsequent pulsing cycles.     

Propeller sheet cavitation noise source modeling and inversion

Propeller sheet cavitation is the main contributor to high level of noise and vibration in the after body of a ship. Full measurement of the cavitation-induced hull pressure over the entire surface of the affected area is desired but not practical. Therefore, using a few measurements on the outer hull above the propeller in a cavitation tunnel, empirical or semi-empirical techniques based on physical model have been used to predict the hull-induced pressure (or hull-induced force). In this paper, with the analytic source model for sheet cavitation, a multi-parameter inversion scheme to find the positions of noise sources and their strengths is suggested. The inversion is posed as a nonlinear optimization problem, which is solved by the optimization algorithm based on the adaptive simplex simulated annealing algorithm. Then, the resulting hull pressure can be modeled with boundary element method from the inverted cavitation noise sources. The suggested approach is applied to the hull pressure data measured in a cavitation tunnel of the Samsung Heavy Industry. Two monopole sources are adequate to model the propeller sheet cavitation noise. The inverted source information is reasonable with the cavitation dynamics of the propeller and the modeled hull pressure shows good agreement with cavitation tunnel experimental data.