Influence of flocculation on the ultrasonic properties of emulsions: theory

A theory is developed to account for the influence of flocculation on the ultrasonic attenuation spectra of emulsions. The theory assumes that flocculated emulsions contain `particles' which have effective properties determined by the size and volume fraction of the individual droplets within the flocs. The theory predicts that the attenuation spectra of emulsions depends on the size of the droplets, the size of the flocs, the packing of the droplets within the flocs and the fraction of droplets which are flocculated.