Oceanic bubble population measurements using a buoy-deployedcombination frequency technique

This paper presents the results of using a combination frequency acoustic technique to measure the near-surface bubble population in the open sea. The combination frequency technique monitors the appearance of sum-and-difference signals generated by the nonlinear interaction of two sound fields: one, a high-frequency signal, scatters geometrically from the bubble, and the other, of much lower frequency, is used to excite the bubble into resonant pulsation. The text details the calibration of the apparatus necessary to relate the measured heights of the sum-and-difference terms to actual numbers of bubbles and describes the experimental procedure for the collection of the oceanic data. In total, six trials were performed over a one-day period, each comprising ten “snapshots” of the local bubble population at ten discrete radii. This data was augmented with simultaneous video, slide, and dictaphone records of the state of the sea around the measurement position     

Vertical spatial coherence of backscatter from bubbles

A basic formalism is developed to treat the vertical spatial coherence of backscatter from wind-generated microbubbles beneath the ocean surface. This formalism treats signals multiply scattered by the sea surface and the subsurface scatterers, as well as absorption in the bubble layer. Approximate solutions are obtained for the case of narrow beamwidth sources and are applied to study the influence of measurement system and environmental parameters on coherence. Using bubble densities derived from acoustic backscatter data, the coherence is found to depend strongly on source frequency and beam pattern. The primary environmental effect is due to the increase in both bubble density and penetration depth below the surface that occurs with increasing windspeed. At high wind speeds, the vertical coherence is sufficiently dependent on the scatterer depth distribution to provide a viable means of studying this phenomenon.     

A comparison of four methods for bubble size and void fractionmeasurements

We compare the performance of four different bubble-sensing techniques in a range of environment from the surf zone to the open ocean: a remote sensing method using high-frequency backscatter, two in situ methods using an acoustical resonator and a pulse propagation sensor, and a bulk method using electrical conductivity. Comparisons between the techniques show general consistency within the appropriate operational bubble density ranges, although spatial variability in bubble clouds introduces substantial variance. Each technique has its strengths and limitations. Our acoustical resonator is suitable for bubble concentrations with air fractions greater than approximately 10 ^-9 and the pulse propagation sonar for air fractions from 10 ^-6; the upper limit for both is constrained by attenuation and the validity of the Foldy scattering approximation. Both sensors can be implemented to encompass a wide frequency range with high resolution, corresponding to resonant bubble radii of 10~1200 μm. For air fractions higher than ~5×10^-4, bulk measurement using electrical conductivity provides a measure of air fraction. Sufficient overlap in operational air-fraction range exists between in situ acoustical techniques and conductivity measurement to permit comparison and demonstrate consistency in the measurement. Single- and multi-frequency backscatter sonars may be used for low air fractions (<1×10^-5) and provide a continuous vertical profile from a deployment beneath the active surface zone, but are subject to masking by dense bubble clouds and are unable to resolve high air fractions close to the surface. This study suggests that the best approach is to use a combination of sensors to probe the bubble field     

Acoustic bubble counting technique using sound speed extracted fromsound attenuation

Sound attenuation has been solely used to estimate bubble size distributions of bubbly water in the conventional acoustic bubble sizing methods. These conventional methods are useful for the void fraction around 10^-6 or lower. However, the change of compressibility in the bubbly water also should be considered in bubble sizing for the void fraction around 10^-5 or higher. Recently the sound speed as well as sound attenuation was considered for acoustic bubble size estimation in bubbly water. In this paper, the sound speed estimated from sound attenuation in bubbly water by an iterative method is used for a bubble counting. This new iterative inverse bubble sizing technique is numerically tested for bubble distributions of single-size Gaussian, and power-law functions. The numerical simulation results are in agreement with the given bubble distributions even for the high void fractions of 10^-4-10^-3. It suggests that the iterative inverse technique can be a very powerful tool for practical use in acoustic bubble counting in the ocean     

Assessment of acoustic iterative inverse method for bubble sizing to experimental data

Comparative study was carried out for an acoustic iterative inverse method to estimate bubble size distributions in water. Conventional bubble sizing methods consider only sound attenuation for sizing. Choi and Yoon [IEEE, 26(1), 125–130 (2001)] reported an acoustic iterative inverse method, which extracts the sound speed component from the measured sound attenuation. It can more accurately estimate the bubble size distributions in water than do the conventional methods. The estimation results of acoustic iterative inverse method were compared with other experimental data. The experimental data show good agreement with the estimation from the acoustic iterative inverse method. This iterative technique can be utilized for bubble sizing in the ocean.     

不同孔距固定气泡幕对黑鲷的阻拦效果

于１９８７年３月－１９８８年１月，在室内水池中观测孔径为０．５ｍｍ，孔距分别为２．５，５．０，７．５，１０．０，２０．０ｃｍ５中固定气泡幕的视觉特征和声学特征；对孔距分别为５．０，１０．０和２０．０ｃｍ３种气泡幕对黑鲷的阻拦作用予以重点分析研究，以期探讨适合阻拦黑鲷的最适孔距。结果表明，这３种气泡幕对黑鲷都具有明显的阻拦作用，平均阻拦率分别为７５．１％，５５．５和５４．５％；其中，以５．０ｃｍ孔距     

A two-frequency hydroacoustic scatterometer for bubble scatteringinvestigations

High-frequency bubble layer scattering investigations require the measurement of the intensity of backscattered sound and the corresponding depth of the scatterers below the moving surface. Especially at high sea state conditions and high acoustic frequencies, bubbles acoustically mask the surface, i.e., the surface return cannot be detected. However, this environmental condition is the most interesting one in bubble scattering investigations and a reliable method is required to determine the range of the scatterers to the surface displacement. A method for the determination of the vertical profiling of acoustic scattering in the presence of bubbles at high sea state conditions is presented. It is based on the transmission of a low-frequency signal alternately to the high-frequency signal at which the scattering investigations are performed. The only information that is extracted from the low-frequency echo is the onset of the surface return. It is used to compute the true depth of scatterers at the high frequency. Experiments were conducted to determine the optimum low frequency at which the detection of the surface onset in the presence of a high bubble concentration is ensured. A screening ratio is defined to give a measure of the acoustic masking of the sea surface. It is depicted for an extreme wind condition (20 m/s) for the frequency range of 5-25 kHz and as a function of wind speed for 50 kHz measurements. Selected results of subsurface bubble scattering at 50 kHz from experiments under open sea conditions are presented for the wind speed regime from 9 to 22 m/s. Additionally, the two-frequency scatterometer is used to measure sea state characteristics simultaneously to the scattering investigations by remote sensing techniques     

气泵法生成气泡帷幕的特性研究

气泡帷幕在水下噪声抑制方面有非常广泛的应用。为了更好地利用气泡帷幕的衰减特性,在实验室水槽设备中采用气泵法产生气泡帷幕,通过对不同深度、气流量接收信号的时频分析,利用共振谱法对气泡分布进行反演。研究表明:(1)气泡的分布可以利用高斯分布近似描述。(2)随着深度增加,气泡含量也有略微增加。(3)气泵法产生的气泡帷幕的气流量大小对衰减的峰值所在的频段基本没有影响,但气流量的改变会影响声波衰减的强弱,气流量大的情况下,气泡帷幕对声波衰减效果更强。通过掌握气泵法生成气泡帷幕中气泡的分布规律,可以有效指导气泡帷幕的设计。     

Experimental investigation of the combustive sound source

In this paper, we describe a unique low frequency underwater sound source called the combustive sound source (CSS). In this device, a combustible gas mixture is captured in a combustion chamber and ignited with a spark. The ensuing combustion produces expanding gases which in turn produce high intensity, low frequency acoustic pulses. With high-speed motion pictures of the CSS event, we relate the motion of the bubble to the acoustic waveform. We also compare the measured first bubble period in the CSS pressure signature with the predictions of the Rayleigh-Willis equation, including the dependence of the radiated acoustic waveform on the volume and depth of the bubble. Measurements of the first bubble period agree with Rayleigh-Willis theory in trend, but not in absolute value. In addition, we discuss the variation of the acoustic output with the fuel/oxygen mixture. Finally, several other factors that affect the acoustic output of CSS are discussed. These include the shape of the CSS combustion chamber, the type of oxidizer and fuel, and the ignition source     

Concentration of particulate trace metals and particulate organic carbon in marine surface waters by a bubble flotation mechanism

The transport of particulate organic carbon (POC) and particulate trace metals (PTM) to the sea surface by rising bubbles in samples of surface water collected in Narragansett Bay was examined using an adsorptive bubble separation technique. Recoveries of POC ranged from 30 to 59% while those of the particulate form of the trace metals, Al, Mn, Fe, V, Cu, Zn, Ni, Pb, Cr and Cd were generally greater than 50%. The recovery data were used to arrive at a rough order of magnitude estimate of the bubble transport of POC and PTM under open-ocean conditions. While transport rates of the trace metals to the sea surface by both bubble transport and atmospheric deposition varied over approximately 3 orders of magnitude, the ratio of bubble transport to atmospheric deposition for most metals varied over approximately one order of magnitude, perhaps suggesting some degree of coupling between atmospheric PTM and bubble-transported PTM.     

Bble Size Distribution for Waves Propagating over A Submerged Breakwater

Experiments are carried out to study the characteristics of active bubbles entrained by breaking waves as these propagate over an abruptly topographical change or a submerged breakwater. Underwater sounds generated by the entrained air bubbles are detected by a hydrophone connected to a charge amplifier and a data acquisition system. The size distribution of the bubbles is then determined inversely from the received sound frequencies. The sound signals are converted from time domain to time-frequency domain by applying Gabor transform. The number of bubbles with different sizes are counted from the signal peaks in the time-frequency domain. The characteristics of the bubbles are in terms of bubble size spectra, which account for the variation in bubble probability density related to the bubble radius r. The experimental data demonstrate that the bubble probability density function shows a-2.39 power-law scaling with radius for r＞0.8 mm, and a-1.11 power law for r＜0.8 mm.     

Bubble Size Distribution for Waves Propagating over A Submerged Breakwater

Experiments are carried out to study the characteristics of active bubbles entrained by breaking waves as these propagate over an abruptly topographical change or a submerged breakwater. Underwater sounds generated by the entrained air bubbles are detected by a hydrophone connected to a charge amplifier and a data acquisition system. The size distribution of the bubbles is then determined inversely from the received sound frequencies. The sound signals are converted from time domain to time-frequency domain by applying Gabor transform. The number of bubbles with different sizes are counted from the signal peaks in the time-frequency domain. The characteristics of the bubbles are in terms of bubble size spectra, which account for the variation in bubble probability density related to the bubble radius r. The experimental data demonstrate that the bubble probability density function shows a - 2.39 power-law sealing with radius for r 〉 0. 8 mm, and a- 1.11 power law for r 〈0.8 mm.     

Dynamic and diffusive growth of microbubbles near a two-dimensional hydrofoil

A technique for predicting the bubble growth along a two-dimensional hydrofoil with traveling bubble cavitation is presented. The method is based on the dynamic response of ambient microbubbles to the flow field and the subsequent diffusion of dissolved air into the flow field cavities. The bubble growth model is divided into three components, including the prediction of 1) the hydrofoil surface pressure distribution, 2) the ambient microbubble response to the pressure distribution, and 3) the diffusive mass flow rate. The hydrofoil velocity and pressure field is determined by two-dimensional thin airfoil theory. The microbubble response to the pressure field is given by the Rayleigh-Plesset equation with the addition of a mass diffusion term. The diffusion of dissolved gasses into the cavitation bubbles is determined by a solution to the steady-state diffusion equation under spherically symmetric convective flow. Results are given for the bubble wake of a NACA 66-006 (a = 0.8meanline) hydrofoil with traveling bubble cavitation. The effect of the relative velocity of the cavitation bubbles with respect to the surrounding water is investigated as well as the significance of the mass diffusion term in the Rayleigh-Plesset equation.     

浅层气逸出到海水中的气泡声学探测方法

针对南黄海西部等地区在海洋调查仪器上发现的海水中浅层气逸出气泡产生的声学羽流等气泡记录,首先根据水体中气泡共振发生非线性振动形成的强烈散射现象,计算了我国浅层气分布海区的常见浅层气逸出气泡共振频率范围、不同调查仪器在水深变化时的探测气泡大小,据此分析了不同调查仪器探测浅层气逸出气泡的范围。其次,根据气泡在水中的变化、运动规律,提出了浅层气逸出气泡应当具备的声学特点,排除了南黄海西部地区形成水体中特征反射的其他可能因素,并探讨了云状扰动的可能形成原因。     

近岸破碎波水体掺气及气泡输运过程研究

为准确探讨破碎波作用下气体如何卷入以及气泡的形成与输运特性, 文章结合粒子图像测速技术(particle image velocimetry, PIV)、高速相机和气泡测量系统, 以及基于Navier-Stokes方程的三维数值模型对气泡形成及其运动过程进行研究。研究结果表明: 文章建立的数值模型能合理地捕捉到破碎波作用下气体的卷入及其输运过程; 波浪的破碎会形成较大的气腔, 其破裂过程又将产生大量的气体微团; 气泡会增加水体的紊动, 造成水体与空气交界面附近形成大量的漩涡以及水体的飞溅; 气泡的破裂会消耗大量的水体能量, 同时发现较大的紊动动能与气泡的生成有关, 且气泡数随平均紊动动能的增加呈线性增长关系。     

The dynamic behavior of a gas bubble near a wall

In this paper, a numerical model based on the potential flow theory is established to simulate the interaction of a gas bubble with a nearby wall. The time-integration boundary integral method is used to solve the dynamics of a gas bubble. With this method the numerical calculations show an excellent agreement with the experimental data. Employing the numerical code based on the presented algorithm, the dynamics of a gas bubble close to a rigid wall is investigated systematically, especially the relationship between various characteristic parameters and the Bjerknes effect due to the presence of a nearby wall. It is found that Blake's criterion, which is usually used to predict the direction of the bubble jet, has a great degree of accuracy for the bubble relatively far away from the wall and bubble near a wall, there is a significant error, attributed to its simplifications and assumptions. Further studies show that an oblique jet will be formed when a bubble close to an inclined wall collapses, direction and width of which have a close relationship with the characteristic parameters used to characterize the bubble. For the bubble near a horizontal wall, a liquid jet pointing directly to the wall is developed generally when the Bjerknes attraction and buoyancy are in the same direction; and at the same time, if the Bjerknes attraction is in the opposite direction of buoyancy, the direction of the jet will depend on a criterion. Then the interaction of gas bubble between complicated walls of some a submarine is also studied, which shows the most dangerous induced loading condition of structure in water, and the evidently effects of bubble jet on loading. The special phenomena mentioned above have a great significance for the further study on the interaction of the bubble with its boundaries.     

Properties of superresonant systems of spherical scatterers

Systems of identical precisely spaced bubbles or similar monopole scatterers in water-e.g., inflated balloons or thin-walled shells-insonified at frequenciesomega_{SR}dose to their fundamental radial resonanceomega_{0}(bubble) frequency may themselves display resonance modes or superresonances (SR's) [1]. Ordinary single-bubble resonances magnify the local free-field pressure amplitudep_{1}by a factor(ka)^{-1},abeing the radius andkthe wavenumber in water: for air bubbles or balloons in water, this factor is of the order of 70. Under SR conditions each member of the system amplifies the local free-field amplitude by a further factor of order(ka)^{-1}. Depending upon geometry and other constraints, the pressure fieldP_{SR}on the surface and in the interior of each scatterer will then be in the range of10^{3}p_{1}to5 times 10^{3} p_{1}. This paper investigates the sensitivity of this phenomenon to small departures from the ideal model. In particular, it examines the effect of small differences in scatter positioning and volumes in the context of an SR system consisting of two bubbles/balloons close to the boundary of a thin elastic plate overlying a fluid half-space. It is found that, to observe the SR phenomenon, radii and positions should be controlled to within approximately 1/2 percent.P_{SR}is also sensitive to the angle of incidence of the plane wave train. For the simple system examined here, this sensitivity is considerable for either flexural wave trains or volume acoustic waves incident upon the bubble/ balloon pair (doublet). Practical uses of the phenomenon may range from the design of passive high-Qacoustical filter/amplifiers and acoustical lenses to improved source efficiencies.     

Megaplume bubble process visualization by 3D multibeam sonar mapping

MultiBeam echosounder data were collected during a surface-ship survey of the 22/4b well site in the North Sea in September 2011 using a Teledyne-Reson 7125. Modern multibeam echosounders are instrumental in providing detection and accurate localization of weak to strong bubble plumes. Two survey profiles effectively insonified the bubble plumes rising from the main crater at the well site, providing snapshot data of bubble plume processes. Additionally, three profiles insonified bubble plumes rising from, in, and to the south of a secondary crater, 1.2 km southeast of the main crater. Data processing included a simple algorithm that muted mislocated echoes from incomplete sidelobe suppression. The data processing produced a Cartesian volume of echo intensity from the water column and seabed.Plume geometry was analyzed to investigate a number of important large-scale plume processes, including plume bubble detrainment due to currents and stratification, downwelling flows, sea surface interaction, plume heterogeneity, and other fluid transport processes. The data showed strong upwelling flows, with bubble vertical motions generally much faster than currents. One important finding was that megaplumes create intrusions above the general thermocline, in part because their extensive upwelling flow lifts the thermocline locally. As a result, the intrusion layer deposits dissolved gases in the upper wave-mixed layer of the water column where it is not isolated from the atmosphere, unlike dissolved gases in the lower water column.The analysis shows that high fidelity multibeam echosounder data can provide a wealth of remote sensing information on bubble plume characteristics and processes, with important applications, including blowout monitoring and response, better understanding of megaplumes such as used in lake destratification, and improved characterization of natural seep emission processes.     

A new optical instrument for the study of bubbles at high voidfractions within breaking waves

An optical imaging system (BubbleCam) has been tested for the quantification of bubble distributions at high void fractions formed beneath breaking waves. The instrument consists of a CCD video camera, stroboscopic light source, and optics allowing adjustable magnification, a fixed imaging volume, and the resolution of bubbles 3 pixels in radius and larger (equivalent to a minimum bubble radius of about 200 μm in the test configuration). BubbleCam has been deployed in a shore-based configuration (data and power supplied via shore-connected cables) as well as an autonomous device in the open sea with its own power supply and data storage. The resulting images are processed using a variant of the Hough transform which allows computer-automated counting and measurement of the bubbles within the video frames. In addition, images can be qualitatively examined to provide insights into bubble plume evolution and creation mechanisms     

Acoustic scattering by an air-bubble near the sea surface

If the air bubble is near, and strongly interacting, with the (flat) surface of a liquid half-space, then the scattering cross section (SCS) of the bubble differs substantially from its value far-away from the interface. We present the exact solution for this scattering problem which is valid for any incidence direction of the (plane) sound waves, and for any bubble depth, obtained by the general method of images. The bubble is described as a continuous, spatially extended body, having an infinity of modes and resonances. The interaction with the boundary, or the image, is treated by a general, extended continuum approach. This benchmark solution makes use of the addition theorems for the spherical wavefunctions. The resulting SCS contains contributions from the bubble, its image, the incident wave, and the reflected wave from the boundary. It is expressed in terms of coupling coefficients, b_mn, which contain products of Wigner-3j symbols. The formulation is illustrated with many computed plots for bubbles at various depths, and the results compare favorably with earlier experimental observations. The approach also serves to describe scattering by fish near the sea surface, in an exact fashion