Transition mechanisms of translational motions of bubbles in an ultrasonic field

The translation behaviors of oscillating bubbles are closely related to the polymerizations and dispersions between them, which are crucial for the ultrasonic cavitation effect. In this study, six types of translational motion of bubbles with a wide range of sizes (2–100 μm) in the R(01)-R(02) plane are investigated. Our results demonstrate that in addition (to the 2nd order harmonic), the 1/2 order subharmonic can change the bubble pairs from the three states of the attraction, stable after attraction, and repulsion to that of the repulsion, coalescence, and attraction, respectively. Furthermore, within the range of the main resonance radius and the 1/2 order subharmonic resonance radius, the chaotic bubble pairs with alternating attractive and repulsive forces appear in the region between the coalescence pairs and stable pairs after attraction. Finally, the corresponding physical mechanisms of the chaotic translational motions are also revealed.