Stable tridimensional bubble clusters in multi-bubble sonoluminescence (MBSL)

In the present work, stable clusters made of multiple sonoluminescent bubbles are experimentally and theoretically studied. Argon bubbles were acoustically generated and trapped using bi-frequency driving within a cylindrical chamber filled with a sulfuric acid aqueous solution (SA85w/w). The intensity of the acoustic pressure field was strong enough to sustain, during several minutes, a large number of positionally and spatially fixed (without pseudo-orbits) sonoluminescent bubbles over an ellipsoidally-shaped tridimensional array. The dimensions of the ellipsoids were studied as a function of the amplitude of the applied low-frequency acoustic pressure (PAc(LF)) and the static pressure in the fluid (P0). In order to explain the size and shape of the bubble clusters, we performed a series of numerical simulations of the hydrodynamic forces acting over the bubbles. In both cases the observed experimental behavior was in excellent agreement with the numerical results. The simulations revealed that the positionally stable region, mainly determined by the null primary Bjerknes force (F→Bj), is defined as the outer perimeter of an axisymmetric ellipsoidal cluster centered in the acoustic field antinode. The role of the high-frequency component of the pressure field and the influence of the secondary Bjerknes force are discussed. We also investigate the effect of a change in the concentration of dissolved gas on the positional and spatial instabilities through the cluster dimensions. The experimental and numerical results presented in this paper are potentially useful for further understanding and modeling numerous current research topics regarding multi-bubble phenomena, e.g. forces acting on the bubbles in multi-frequency acoustic fields, transient acoustic cavitation, bubble interactions, structure formation processes, atomic and molecular emissions of equal bubbles and nonlinear or unsteady acoustic pressure fields in bubbly media.