A phenomenological model of mass-exchange between the inside and outside of a cavitation bubble

• Published in: Chinese science bulletin 2009-04, Vol.54 (7), p.1152-1157
• Main Authors: Gao, XianXian, Chen, WeiZhong, Huang, Wei, Xu, JunFeng, Xu, XingHua, Liu, YaNan, Liang, Yue
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Articles/Acoustics; Chemistry/Food Science; Earth Sciences; Engineering; Humanities and Social Sciences; Life Sciences; multidisciplinary; Physics; Science; Science (multidisciplinary)
• ISSN: 1001-6538; 2095-9273; 1861-9541; 2095-9281
• DOI: 10.1007/s11434-009-0156-9

The mass-exchange between the inside and outside of a cavitation bubble is a complicated process with several kinds of exchange forms acting together, such as gas diffusion, gas-liquid phase transition, chemical reactions and so on. A phenomenological model of mass-exchange was proposed, in which the pressure difference is considered as the drive. Compared with the previous physical models, it has a simpler form and less computational cost. Combining it with Rayleigh-Plesset equation, the equilibrium radius is calculated when the mass-exchange achieves the dynamic balance. The result shows that the equilibrium radius has multiple values. The relationships between the equilibrium radius and the driving ultrasound (pressure amplitude and frequency) are evaluated. We also investigated how these relationships were affected by the model parameters. Finally, the bubble radius evolution in the sulfuric acid driven by different pressures was measured. The experimental result that the equilibrium radius changes with the pressure agrees with the numerical results well.