Eur. Phys. J. E (2019) 42: 70
https://doi.org/10.1140/epje/i2019-11833-8

Regular Article

Study on the structure and behaviour of cavitation bubbles generated in a high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) field

¹ College of Shipbuilding Engineering, Harbin Engineering University, 145, Nantong Street, 150001, Harbin, China
² Department of Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore, 10 Kent Ridge Crescent, 119260, Singapore, Singapore

^* e-mail: liuniannian725@126.com
^** e-mail: zhangaman@hrbeu.edu.cn

Received: 8 January 2019
Accepted: 2 May 2019
Published online: 6 June 2019

Abstract

In this study, structures and behaviours of acoustic cavitation bubbles induced by a high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) transducer, operating at its resonance frequency of 250kHz, are experimentally explored with corresponding observations captured by a high-speed video camera system. The experiments were conducted in an open-top Perspex water tank with deionized water, and illumination was provided by a LED spotlight which is placed beside the water tank throughout the whole experiment. Experimental results show that the structure of ultrasonically generated bubbles forms in a conical shape with several concentric bubble rings above the transducer. The distance between the adjacent rings with equal spacing as determined by the driving frequency of the HIFU transducer is experimentally measured and compared with the theoretical value. Then, the distribution of acoustic pressure in the acoustically driven liquid is further studied to investigate the behaviours of cavitation bubbles generated in a HIFU field. Additionally, the analysis of Bjerknes forces on the bubble surface which are induced by the gradient of acoustic pressure and the adjacent oscillating bubbles is quantitatively carried out, and the radius and velocity of a typical larger bubble are measured to characterize the behaviours of ultrasonically induced bubbles. Particularly, the physical phenomena of large bubbles including the coalescence, attraction or repulsion between adjacent bubbles, as well as the jumping of an acoustic bubble from the lower concentric ring level to the higher level, are analysed. The moving trajectory of the bubble is next obtained, and some conclusions are summarized to provide a greater understanding of the complex behaviours of the ultrasonically generated bubbles.