Numerical Investigation of Ultrasound-Induced Bubble Motion and Coalescence

Abstract

Abstract Ultrasound-induced bubble motion and coalescence can be a unique approach to neutralize cavitation clouds in many biomedical applications. However, the detailed mechanisms of bubbles’ collective behaviours have not been fully understood. This work aims to develop an Eulerian-Lagrangian computational framework to simulate the bubble motion and coalescence driven by an ultrasound field. Specifically, the bubbles are modeled as oscillating spheres governed by the Keller-Miksis equation and are tracked as Lagrangian particles moving through the background Eulerian mesh. Several forces that drive bubble dynamics are modeled, including primary and secondary Bjerknes forces, drag force. As two bubbles contacting with each other, coalescence may happen and the film drainage model is applied to simulate the process. Using the new framework, the effects of pulse amplitude, frequency and length on the motion and coalescence of bubbles with different sizes and void fraction are investigated. The new knowledge can be applied to identify the optimal pulse parameters to better control the bubble motion and coalescence, improving the effectiveness of relevant ultrasound techniques.