The Kirkwood-Bethe hypothesis for bubble dynamics, cavitation, and underwater explosions

Pressure-driven bubble dynamics is a major topic of current research in fluid dynamics, driven by innovative medical therapies, sonochemistry, material treatments, and geophysical exploration. First proposed in 1942, the Kirkwood-Bethe hypothesis provides a simple means to close the equations that govern pressure-driven bubble dynamics as well as the resulting flow field and acoustic emissions in spherical symmetry. The models derived from the Kirkwood-Bethe hypothesis can be solved using standard numerical integration methods at a fraction of the computational cost required for fully resolved simulations. Here, the theoretical foundation of the Kirkwood-Bethe hypothesis and contemporary models derived from it are gathered and reviewed, as well as generalized to account for spherically symmetric, cylindrically symmetric, and planar one-dimensional domains. In addition, the underpinning assumptions are clarified and new results that scrutinize the predictive capabilities of the Kirkwood-Bethe hypothesis with respect to the complex acoustic impedance experienced by curved acoustic waves and the formation of shock waves are presented. Although the Kirkwood-Bethe hypothesis is built upon simplifying assumptions and lacks some basic acoustic properties, models derived from it are able to provide accurate predictions under the specific conditions associated with pressure-driven bubble dynamics, cavitation, and underwater explosions.