Shape stability of a microbubble in a power–law liquid

Abstract

AbstractThe onset of non-spherical oscillations of a microbubble in an unbounded power–law liquid, important for biomedical ultrasound applications, is studied. Two sets of evolution equations are obtained from the equation of motion: a Rayleigh Plesset-type equation for the spherical oscillations and an equation for the non-spherical oscillations. The non-spherical oscillations are modeled using the perturbation method via the Legendre polynomials. Two kinds of instabilities, namely parametric and Rayleigh-Taylor instabilities, are investigated. A higher power–law index causes the damping of the oscillations for both spherical and non-spherical oscillations. The power–law index damping effect depends on the ultrasonic drive frequency. At natural frequency, the amplitude of the perturbations is high compared to the non-resonant cases. At a low consistency index, the damping effect of the power–law index decreases. Unlike Newtonian liquids, the viscosity of power–law liquids is affected by the frequency of the acoustic field, thereby affecting Rayleigh-Taylor instability.