Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 10, 2026

Induction of Microstreaming by Nonspherical Bubble Oscillations in an Acoustic Levitation System
Published on: May 9, 2021
An Euler-Lagrange method considering bubble radial dynamics for modeling sonochemical reactors
Rashid Jamshidi1, Gunther Brenner
1Institute of Applied Mechanics, Clausthal University of Technology, Adolph-Roemer Str. 2A, 38678 Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany.
Abstract:
Unsteady numerical computations are performed to investigate the flow field, wave propagation and the structure of bubbles in sonochemical reactors. The turbulent flow field is simulated using a two-equation Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) model. The distribution of the acoustic pressure is solved based on the Helmholtz equation using a finite volume method (FVM). The radial dynamics of a single bubble are considered by applying the Keller-Miksis equation to consider the compressibility of the liquid to the first order of acoustical Mach number. To investigate the structure of bubbles, a one-way coupling Euler-Lagrange approach is used to simulate the bulk medium and the bubbles as the dispersed phase. Drag, gravity, buoyancy, added mass, volume change and first Bjerknes forces are considered and their orders of magnitude are compared. To verify the implemented numerical algorithms, results for one- and two-dimensional simplified test cases are compared with analytical solutions. The results show good agreement with experimental results for the relationship between the acoustic pressure amplitude and the volume fraction of the bubbles. The two-dimensional axi-symmetric results are in good agreement with experimentally observed structure of bubbles close to sonotrode.
Related Concept Videos
Newtonian Fluid: Problem Solving
A velocity gradient forms within the fluid when a Newtonian fluid is placed between two parallel plates, with...
Eulerian and Lagrangian Flow Descriptions
The Eulerian method focuses on fixed points in space where fluid properties, such as velocity, pressure, and temperature, are observed as the fluid moves between these...
Steady, Laminar Flow in Circular Tubes
Modeling with Differential Equations
Navier–Stokes Equations
Bioreactor Controls-II
