Temperature and pressure fields due to collapsing bubble under ultrasound

Abstract

Temperature and pressure fields generated by the collapsing bubble of microsize in liquid under ultrasound are estimated by a set of solutions of the Navier–Stokes equations for the gas inside bubble with considering heat transfer through the bubble wall. The calculation results for the peak temperature and pressure were compared to the observed ones from a sonoluminescing bubble which can be levitated in a spherical cell under ultrasound frequency range of 10–40 kHz. The calculation results are in good agreement with observed ones. However, the Rayleigh–Plesset equation with polytropic relation, a conventional method yields considerably underestimated values in temperature and overestimated ones in pressure. The bubble dynamics model presented in this study may be used as a tool for the design of sonochemical reactor where the peak temperature and pressure and the pressure field due to the bubble collape are important parameters.