The Action of Pressure-Radiation Forces on Pulsating Vapor Bubbles

The action of pressure-radiation (or Bjerknes) forces on gas bubbles is well understood. This paper studies the analogous phenomenon for vapor bubbles, about which much less is known. A possible practical application is the removal of boiling bubbles from the neighborhood of a heated surface in the case of a downward facing surface or in the absence of gravity. For this reason, the case of a bubble near a plane rigid surface is considered in detail. It is shown that, when the acoustic wave fronts are parallel to the surface, the bubble remains trapped due to secondary Bjerknes force caused by an “image bubble.” When the wave fronts are perpendicular to the surface, on the other hand, the bubble can be made to slide laterally.