Thermal processes in the oscillations of gas bubbles in tubes

Abstract

The forced oscillations of a system consisting of two finite liquid columns in a duct separated by a gas bubble are studied in the linear approximation. It is found that thermal processes in the gas induce a very significant damping in the system, which can exceed viscous damping even in capillaries with a submillimeter diameter. The study is motivated by the possibility of using gas bubbles as actuators in microdevices.