Pressure waves from air gun bubbles: A numerical analysis based on the finite volume method

Abstract

Pressure waves emitted from the air gun contain many frequencies, among which low-frequency waves are desirable for exploration and imaging, while high-frequency waves need to be suppressed as they are harmful to marine species. The high-frequency waves originate from the fast oscillations of the flow during the release of the air, such as the impingement of the gas jet into the liquid, the expansion of the air gun bubble, and the interaction between the air gun body and the bubble. However, those dynamic and the emitted waves are adjustable by the special design of the air guns. To analyze the underlying relations, we present a numerical study with a compressible air gun bubble model using the volume of fluid (VOF) approach combined with the finite volume method (FVM) implemented in STAR-CCM+. The venting process of an air gun is investigated to reveal the influence of the air gun body. The results show that air gun pressure for the far field is mainly proportional to the expansion acceleration of the whole gas. Our results also indicate that the opening and chamber shape of the air gun affects the gas expansion acceleration, which influences the first peak of the pressure wave significantly. The larger the opening is, the faster the gas is released, the greater the amplitude of the first peak is. The larger the chamber length/diameter ratio, the slower the gas is released and the lower the amplitude of the first peak.