Linear pressure waves in bubbly liquids: Comparison between theory and experiments

Recent work has rendered possible the formulation of a rigorous model for the propagation of pressure waves in bubbly liquids. The derivation of this model is reviewed heuristically, and the predictions for the small-amplitude case are compared with the data sets of several investigators. The data concern the phase speed, attenuation, and transmission coefficient through a layer of bubbly liquid. It is found that the model works very well up to volume fractions of 1%–2% provided that bubble resonances play a negligible role. Such is the case in a mixture of many bubble sizes or, when only one or a few sizes are present, away from the resonant frequency regions for these sizes. In the presence of resonance effects, the accuracy of the model is severely impaired. Possible reasons for the failure of the model in this case are discussed.