Determining the bubble cap film thickness of bursting bubbles from their acoustic emissions

Abstract

A study of the sound generated by 2.5 mm radius bubbles bursting on the surface of fresh water is presented. The sound pulses are found to be sensitive to the time interval between the bubble reaching the water surface and bursting. Bubbles that burst within a few 10's of milliseconds behave like a Helmholtz resonator and radiate a swept chirp pulse. Bubbles that persist for 100's of milliseconds or more exhibit more complex acoustic behavior. An analysis of the resonator behavior provides an estimate of the film thickness in reasonable agreement with a fluid drainage model.