Ultrasound-induced microbubble coalescence
Résumé
We study the interaction of ultrasound contrast agent bubbles coated with a layer of lipids, driven by 0.5 MHz ultrasound. High-speed photography on the sub-microsecond timescale reveals that some bubbles bounce off each other, while other show very fast coalescence during bubble expansion. This fast coalescence cannot be explained by dissipation-limited film drainage rates. We conclude that the lipid shell ruptures upon expansion, exposing clean free bubble interfaces that support plug flow profiles in the film and inertia-limited drainage whose timescales match those of the observed coalescence.
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