Dynamics of a bubble cluster in an acoustic field

A mathematical model describing the dynamics of clustered gas bubbles under the effect of an acoustic field is presented. The proposed model is used as the basis for an analytical study of small bubble oscillations in monodisperse and polydisperse clusters and for a numerical study of nonlinear bubble oscillations under high-amplitude external pressures. The following effects are found to occur in a polydisperse cluster: a synchronization of the collapse phases of bubbles with different radii and a collapse intensification for bubbles of one size in the presence of bubbles of another size. These effects are explained by the interaction between bubbles of different radii in the cluster.