Simulating vibro-acoustic damping of bubbles in fluids

Bubbles in fluids are common occurrence due to impurities, thermal or flow variations. They are sometimes considered detrimental to the flow and more importantly surrounding structural integrity. On the other hand, bubbles were used positively towards damping vibrations in fluid filled structures [1] and as barriers or curtains in the removal of plastic waste from water ways [2] and also in noise attenuation from offshore windfarms [3]. In the latter two cases, engineers hypothesized these curtains help marine life from sound pollution from surrounding machinery and ships. In this paper the authors discuss two cases to study the effect of bubble size and bubble density. In the first experiment a curtain of air bubbles was introduced in a water body and sound transmission loss (STL) through this curtain was studied. In a second experiment, a stainless-steel tank filled with liquid mercury is infused with helium bubbles and the vibration levels were monitored.