ABSTRACT: A numerical study is presented of the natural frequency of the volume
oscillations of gas bubbles in a liquid contained in a finite-length tube, when the bubble
is not small with the tube diameter. Tubes rigidly terminated at one end, or open at both
ends, are considered. The open ends may be open to the atmosphere or in c ontact with a
large mass of liquid. The numerical results are compared with a simple approximation in
which the bubble consists of a cylindrical mass of gas filling up the cross section of the
tube. It is found that this approximation is very good except when the bubble radius is
much smaller than that of the tube. An alternative approximate solution is developed for
this case. The viscous energy dissipation in the tube is also estimated and found
generally small compared with the thermal damping of the bubble. This work is motivated by
the possibility of using gas bubbles as actuators in fluid-handling microdevices.
J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 103, 3301-3308, 1998
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