Rayleigh Plesset Equation

RayleighPlesset equation 1
Rayleigh–Plesset equation
In fluid mechanics, the Rayleigh–Plesset equation is an ordinary
differential equation which governs the dynamics of a spherical bubble
in an infinite body of liquid.[][] Its general form is usually written as
where
is the pressure within the bubble, assumed to be uniform
is the external pressure infinitely far from the bubble
is the density of the surrounding liquid, assumed to be The Rayleigh–Plesset equation is often applied to
the study of cavitation bubbles, shown here
constant
forming behind a propeller.
is the radius of the bubble
is the kinematic viscosity of the surrounding liquid, assumed to be constant
is the surface tension of the bubble
Provided that is known and is given, the Rayleigh–Plesset equation can be used to solve for the
time-varying bubble radius .
The Rayleigh–Plesset equation is derived from the Navier–Stokes equations under the assumption of spherical
symmetry.[] Neglecting surface tension and viscosity, the equation was first derived by John Strutt, 3rd Baron
Rayleigh in 1917. The equation was first applied to traveling cavitation bubbles by Milton S. Plesset in 1949.[]
Derivation
The Rayleigh–Plesset equation can be derived entirely from first principles using the bubble radius as the dynamic
parameter.[] Consider a spherical bubble with time-dependent radius , where is time. Assume that the
bubble contains a homogeneously distributed vapor/gas with a uniform temperate and pressure .
Outside the bubble is an infinite domain of liquid with constant density and dynamic viscosity . Let the
temperature and pressure far from the bubble be and . The temperature is assumed to be constant.
At a radial distance from the center of the bubble, the varying liquid properties are pressure , temperature
, and radially outward velocity . Note that these liquid properties are only defined outside the
bubble, for .
Mass conservation
By conservation of mass, the inverse-square law requires that the radially outward velocity must be
[]
inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the origin (the center of the bubble). Therefore, letting
be some function of time,
In the case of zero mass transport across the bubble surface, the velocity at the interface must be
which gives that

In the case where mass transport occurs, the rate of mass increase inside the bubble is given by
with being the volume of the bubble. If is the velocity of the liquid relative to the bubble at , then
the mass entering the bubble is given by
with being the surface area of the bubble. Now by conservation of mass , therefore
. Hence
Therefore
In many cases, the liquid density is much greater than the vapor density, , so that can be
[]
approximated by the original zero mass transfer form , so that
Momentum conservation
Assuming that the liquid is a Newtonian fluid, the Navier–Stokes equation in spherical coordinates for motion in the
radial direction gives
Substituting kinematic viscosity and rearranging gives
whereby substituting from mass conservation yields
Note that the viscous terms cancel during substitution.[] Separating variables and integrating from the bubble
boundary to gives
Boundary conditions
Let be the normal stress in the liquid that points radially outward from the center of the bubble. In spherical
coordinates, for a fluid with constant density and constant viscosity,
Therefore at some small portion of the bubble surface, the net force per unit area acting on the lamina is
where is the surface tension.[] If there is no mass transfer across the boundary, then this force per unit area must
be zero, therefore
and so the result from momentum conservation becomes
wherby rearranging and letting gives the Rayleigh–Plesset equation[]
Using dot notation to represent derivatives with respect to time, the Rayleigh–Plesset equation can be more
succinctly written as
Solutions
No analytical closed-form solution is known for the Rayleigh–Plesset equation. However, numerical solutions to any
accuracy can be easily obtained. In the special case, where surface tension and viscosity are neglected, high-order
analytical approximations are known.[]
References
Article Sources and Contributors 4
Article Sources and Contributors

Rayleigh–Plesset equation Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=542719555 Contributors: Arbitrarily0, Jenks24, Michael Hardy, 3 anonymous edits
Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

File:Cavitacion.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Cavitacion.jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike Contributors: Davidhv22
License
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
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RayleighPlesset equation 1

which gives that

Substituting kinematic viscosity and rearranging gives

whereby substituting from mass conservation yields

and so the result from momentum conservation becomes

wherby rearranging and letting gives the Rayleigh–Plesset equation[]

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