Single Bubble Sonoluminescence Research Articles

Modeling the dynamics of single-bubble sonoluminescence

Sonoluminescence (SL) is the phenomenon in which acoustic energy is (partially) transformed into light. It may occur by means of one bubble or many bubbles of gas inside a liquid medium, giving rise to the terms single-bubble and multi-bubble sonoluminescence (SBSL and MBSL). In recent years some models have been proposed to explain this phenomenon, but there is still no complete theory for the light-emission mechanism (especially in the case of SBSL). In this paper, we do not address this more complicated specific issue, but only present a simple model describing the dynamical behavior of the sonoluminescent bubble in the SBSL case. Using simple numerical techniques within the Matlab software package, we discuss solutions that consider various possibilities for some of the parameters involved: liquid compressibility, surface tension, viscosity and type of gas. The model may be used for an introductory study of SL on undergraduate or graduate physics courses, and as a clarifying example of a physical system exhibiting large nonlinearity.

Plasma core at the center of a sonoluminescing bubble

Considering high temperature and pressure during single bubble sonoluminescence collapse, a hot plasma core is generated at the center of the bubble. In this paper a statistical mechanics approach is used to calculate the core pressure and temperature. A hydrochemical model alongside a plasma core is used to study the bubble dynamics in two host liquids of water and sulfuric acid 85 wt % containing Ar atoms. Calculation shows that the extreme pressure and temperature in the plasma core are mainly due to the interaction of the ionized Ar atoms and electrons, which is one step forward to sonofusion. The thermal bremsstrahlung mechanism of radiation is used to analyze the emitted optical energy per flash of the bubble core.

Characteristic spectra of single-bubble sonoluminescence in the rare-earth salt aqueous solutions

The single-bubble sonoluminescence spectra of the terbium chloride aqueous solutions dissolved with the noble gas Ar are studied in this paper. Under the condition of fixed driving ultrasonic frequency and different sound pressures, a series of line spectra is identified as emissions from the transitions of OH radical vibrational levels from the first excited state A2∑+ to the ground state X2Π, including (0, 0) transition at 307 nm, (0, 1) transition at 335 nm and (1, 0) transition at 276 nm and so on. The experimental results show that higher sound pressure is conducive to the appearance of the line spectrum at 276 nm while lower sound pressure is favorable for the appearance of the line spectra at 307 nm and 335 nm. The relative intensity of the line spectrum in the total spectrum is expressed quantificationally by defining an intensity ratio of the line spectrum to the continuous spectrum. In addition, the effects of the driving sound pressure on the intensity ratios of different line spectra are given.

不同声压下酒精水溶液中的单泡声致发光

The curves of single-bubble sonoluminescence (SBSL) intensity versus driving acoustic pressure ( I-P a) were measured in ethanol aqueous solutions with different ethanol concentrations. The results show that the ethanol concentrations can be divided into three zones based on the different changing laws of the I-P a curves. (1) Increasing zone. At relative low ethanol concentration, the curves move toward the pressure decreasing direction. The SBSL intensity increases when the ethanol concentration increases under the same acoustic pressure. (2) Decreasing zone. As ethanol concentration increased, the curves move downward the intensity axis, that is, the SBSL intensity decreases as the concentration of ethanol increases. (3) Flat zone. At relative high ethanol concentration, the slope of the curve decreases as ethanol concentration increases. The bubble dynamics and the physical-chemical effect of ethanol can be responsible for the results.

Molecular dynamics simulations of cavitation bubble collapse and sonoluminescence

The dynamics of the medium within a collapsing and rebounding cavitation bubble is investigated by means of molecular dynamics (MD) simulations adopting a hard sphere model for the species inside the bubble. The dynamics of the surrounding liquid (water) is modelled using a Rayleigh–Plesset (RP)-type equation coupled to the bubble interior by the gas pressure at the wall obtained from the MD calculations. Water vapour and vapour chemistry are included in the RP-MD model as well as mass and energy transfer through the bubble wall. The calculations reveal the evolution of temperature, density and pressure within a bubble at conditions typical of single-bubble sonoluminescence and predict how the particle numbers and densities of different vapour dissociation and reaction products in the bubble develop in space and time. Among the parameters varied are the sound pressure amplitude of a sonoluminescence bubble in water, the noble gas mixture in the bubble and the accommodation coefficients for mass and energy exchange through the bubble wall. Simulation particle numbers up to 10 million are used; most calculations, however, are performed with one million particles to save computer run time. Validation of the MD code was done by comparing MD results with solutions obtained by continuum mechanics calculations for the Euler equations.

The effect of static pressure on the strength of inertial cavitation events

Recent investigations of cavitation in fluids pressurized up to 30 MPa found that the intensity of light emissions increased by 1000-fold over that measured for single bubble sonoluminescence. A series of measurements is reported here to extend this original work by resolving the static pressure dependence of the shock wave and light emissions from the first and the most energetic collapses, along with the total shock wave energy and light emissions for the event. Each of these parameters was found to increase with the static pressure of the fluid. Furthermore, the energy of these shock wave and light emissions was found to increase in proportion to the stored acoustic energy in the system. These findings were corroborated using the Gilmore equation to numerically compute the work done by the liquid during the bubble collapse. The overall findings suggest that the increased collapse strength at high static pressure is due to the increased tension required to generate inertial cavitation, and not an increased pressure gradient between the interior of the vaporous bubble and the surrounding liquid.

Temperature Nonequilibration during Single-Bubble Sonoluminescence.

Single-bubble sonoluminescence (SBSL) spectra from liquids having low vapor pressures, especially mineral acids, are exceptionally rich. During SBSL from aqueous sulfuric acid containing dissolved neon, rovibronic emission spectra reveal vibrationally hot sulfur monoxide (SO; Tv = 2100 K) that is also rotationally cold (Tr = 290 K). In addition to SO, excited neon atom emission gives an estimated temperature, for neon, of several thousand Kelvin. This nonequilibrated temperature is consistent with dynamically constrained SO formation at the liquid-vapor interface of the collapsing bubble. Formation occurs via collisions of fast neon atoms (generated within the collapsing bubble) with liquid-phase molecular species in the interfacial region, thus allowing for a mechanistic understanding of the processes leading to light emission.

Noble gas dependence of single-bubble sonoluminescence in phosphoric acid

Single-bubble sonoluminescence (SL) from a concentrated solution of phosphoric acid doped with various noble gases has been studied using a hydrochemical model. The results indicate that in agreement with experiment, the SL temperature increases with the atomic mass of the noble gases. Also, both the temperature and the intensity of SL are remarkably higher for lower partial pressures of a noble gas. Our calculations show that the maximum acquirable SL intensity from phosphoric acid is considerably greater than that of water. This mainly originates from the lower vapor pressure and the higher viscosity of phosphoric acid relative to water making the instability mechanisms completely different for these liquids.

Upscaling energy concentration in multifrequency single-bubble sonoluminescence with strongly degassed sulfuric acid

Single-bubble sonoluminescence (SBSL) was explored under a variety of multifrequency excitations. In particular, biharmonic excitation was used to produce SBSL for unprecedented low dissolved noble gas concentrations in a sulfuric acid solution. Reducing the amount of dissolved noble gas makes it possible to reach higher acoustic pressures on the SL bubble, which otherwise are not attainable because of the Bjerknes instability. By using biharmonic excitation, we were able to experimentally trap and to spatially stabilize SL bubbles for xenon pressure overhead as low as 1 mbar. As a result, we have access to regions in phase space where the plasma temperatures are higher than the ones reached before for bubbles driven at ≈30 kHz.

Radial and translational oscillations of an acoustically levitated bubble in aqueous ethanol solutions

The radial and translational oscillations of a single cavitation bubble in a standing ultrasound wave were investigated experimentally at various driving acoustic pressures for aqueous ethanol solutions with different bulk molar fractions of ethanol range of 0-1.3 × 10(-3). The results show that both the lower and upper stability thresholds of the acoustic driving pressure decreased as the concentration of ethanol was increased. At a given driving pressure the ambient and maximum bubble sizes increased with increasing ethanol concentration. In addition, as the ethanol was increased, the sonoluminescence intensity decreased while the bubble dynamics remained largely unchanged. The translational oscillation of the levitated bubble, however, became increasingly violent with increasing ethanol concentration. The displacement of the bubble reached 0.7 mm at the highest concentration studied (1.3 × 10(-3)) and the maximum bubble size was found to change as the bubble jumped up and down. This bubble translation may be responsible for the decrease of the acoustic driving pressure threshold and suggests that repetitive injection of ethanol molecules into the bubble takes place. These results may account for the different sensitivities of single bubble and multi-bubble sonoluminescence to the presence of volatile additives.

Effect of alcohol on single-bubble sonoluminescence

The driving parametric regions in frequency-amplitude space and the optimal parameters for single-bubble sonoluminescence (SBSL) in alcohol aqueous solutions are studied systematically by taking measurements of the spectrum and bubble dynamics. The experimental results show that with an increase in alcohol concentration, the region shrinks and shifts. The optimized parameters differ for alcohol solutions having different concentrations, and SBSL driven by fixed parameters dims quickly and is even destroyed immediately with the addition of a small amount of alcohol to pure water. Furthermore, it is seen that the intensity of optimized SBSL decreases as the alcohol concentration increases. The corresponding measurements of the dynamics of the optimized SBSL bubble show that the maximum bubble radius at an alcohol concentration of 1.04 mM is only half that for pure water. Meanwhile, the optimized driving amplitude acquired by direct measurement and that obtained by fitting the radius-time curves with the Rayleigh-Plesset equation both decrease by 12% in the same comparison. Therefore, a decrease in the driving acoustic pressure may be an important reason for the decrease in the optimized SBSL intensity, which should help clarify SBSL mechanisms in alcohol aqueous solutions.

Ambient temperature effect on single-bubble sonoluminescence in different concentrations of sulfuric acid solutions

The effect of ambient temperature on the parameters of the single-bubble sonoluminescence in sulfuric acid (SA) diluted in water is studied. Using a hydrochemical model, three dominant instabilities of shape, Bjerknes, and diffusion are considered. The phase diagrams of the bubble in the (R0 - Pa) space are presented, and the parametric dependence of the light intensity is discussed. In contrast to water, the calculated thermal-bremsstrahlung mechanism of light emission at the fixed degassing condition of high SA concentrations shows that, with increasing the temperature of aqueous SA solutions, the light intensity increases. However, at diluted SA solutions similar to water, the light intensity decreases with increasing the ambient temperature. For 50 wt % SA, it was observed that the emitted light was almost temperature independent. Furthermore, it is found that, at the fixed temperatures of 20 °C, 10 °C, and 0 °C, the aqueous solutions of 65 wt %, 50 wt %, and 45 wt % SA, respectively, have the maximum light emission.

Segregation in water-based stable single-bubble sonoluminescence

A long-standing issue in the field of long-time-stable, water-based, single-bubble sonoluminescence has been the close similarity of the spectra to that of blackbody radiation, the question being whether the similarity is just a weird coincidence, with the bubbles being, on the whole, transparent to their own radiation. One mechanism that has been suggested is the generation of a shock or, at least, a compression wave in the gas of the bubble. A footprint of such a wave would be segregation of species. We have investigated spectra from bubbles seeded with various mixtures of helium or neon with xenon or argon using a transformation, specific to our experimental setup and spectrometer, that was shown to allow for a single-parameter characterization of the spectra in some simpler situations. The surprising result of this investigation is that although no trace of segregation is found, the radiation seems to be highly thermalized in all cases.

Quasiadiabatic approach for laser-induced single-bubble sonoluminescence

The luminescence parameters of laser-induced bubble in the presence of an acoustic field in water are studied. A comparison is made between parameters such as bubble radius, interior temperature, and pressure of the bubble induced by laser and an acoustic field influenced by different driving pressure amplitudes. It is found that the bubble volume induced by laser at the collapse instant is more than 10(6) times larger than the one induced by an acoustic field. It is also noticed, by increasing the driving pressure amplitude, the bubble radius decreases in both cases, however, the bubble interior pressure and temperature increase.

Luminescence of sodium atoms in aqueous solution during sonolysis in moving-single-bubble regime

Emission from excited sodium atoms (Na 589 nm) under the conditions of single-bubble sonoluminescence (SBSL) in the moving-bubble regime has been observed in aqueous NaCl solutions at concentrations within 2.5–6 mol/L. Atomic line emission in the gas phase was caused by the penetration of metal salt species inside the bubble, followed by the transition of Na atom to an excited state. Saturation with argon and a low temperature (from −10 to −15°C) of solution are factors that favor the SBSL of metal in solution of a nonvolatile salt. The results confirm the validity of the model of microdrop injection that explains the appearance of metal inside a bubble, its excitation, and subsequent atomic line emission during SBSL as related to deformations of the moving bubble.

Suppressing shape instabilities to discover the Bjerknes force instability (L)

For sufficiently strong acoustic forcing in a standing wave field, subresonant size bubbles are predicted to be repelled from the pressure antinode. Single bubble sonoluminescence (SBSL) conditions in water do not allow the observation of this instability. This study investigates the possibility that increasing the viscosity of the host liquid can preferentially suppress shape instabilities of a bubble and allow SBSL experiments to be limited by the Bjerknes force instability.

Temperature dependency of single-bubble sonoluminescence in sulfuric acid

Using a hydrochemical simulation, temperature dependency of single-bubble sonoluminescence (SL) in a concentrated solution of sulfuric acid has theoretically been studied. With calculating the phase diagrams of an SL bubble in the solution of 85% acid, maximum acquirable SL emissions at different ambient temperatures were calculated. The results show that the SL emission in sulfuric acid increases with increment in the ambient temperature. This temperature dependency is in opposition to that observed in experiments for SL in water. The difference originates from different instability mechanisms determining the ultimate phase parameters of SL in water and sulfuric acid. In water, due to the smallness of viscosity, the ultimate phase parameters are determined by the shape instability. However, in sulfuric acid the phase parameters are restricted by positional instability due to the largeness of the liquid viscosity.

Effects of fluid viscosity on a moving sonoluminescing bubble

Based on the quasi-adiabatic model, the parameters of the bubble interior for a moving single bubble sonoluminescence in water, adiponitrile, and N-methylformamide are calculated for various fluid viscosities. By using a complete form of the hydrodynamic force, the bubble trajectory is calculated for a moving single bubble sonoluminescence (m-SBSL). It is found that as the fluid viscosity increases, the unique circular path changes to an ellipsoidal and then linear form and along this incrementally increase of viscosity the light intensity increases. By using the Bremsstrahlung model to describe the bubble radiation, gradual increase of the viscosity results in brighter emissions. It is found that in fluids with higher viscosity the light intensity decreases as time passes.

A unique circular path of moving single bubble sonoluminescence in water

Based on a quasi-adiabatic model, the parameters of the bubble interior for a moving single bubble sonoluminescence (m-SBSL) in water are calculated. By using a complete form of the hydrodynamic force, a unique circular path for the m-SBSL in water is obtained. The effect of the ambient pressure variation on the bubble trajectory is also investigated. It is concluded that as the ambient pressure increases, the bubble moves along a circular path with a larger radius and all bubble parameters, such as gas pressure, interior temperature and light intensity, increase. A comparison is made between the parameters of the moving bubble in water and those in N-methylformamide. With fluid viscosity increasing, the circular path changes into an elliptic form and the light intensity increases.

Optimization of the bubble radius in a moving single bubble sonoluminescence

A complete study of the hydrodynamic force on a moving single bubble sonoluminescence in N-methylformamide is presented in this work. All forces exerted, trajectory, interior temperature and gas pressure are discussed. The maximum values of the calculated components of the hydrodynamic force for three different radii at the same driving pressure were compared, while the optimum bubble radius was determined. The maximum value of the buoyancy force appears at the start of bubble collapse, earlier than the other forces whose maximum values appear at the moment of bubble collapse. We verified that for radii larger than the optimum radius, the temperature peak value decreases.