Search NASA⌕ Search

Engineering topics

Prosperetti, Andrea

Publications and source records attributed to Prosperetti, Andrea.

Acoustic Bubble Removal from Boiling Surfaces

The object of the study was the investigation of the forces generated by standing acoustic waves on vapor bubbles, both far and near boundaries. In order to accomplish this objective, in view of the scarcity of publications on the topic, it has been necessary to build an edifice of knowledge about vapor bubbles in sound and flow fields from the ground up, as it were. We have addressed problems of gradually greater difficulty as follows: 1. In the first place, the physics of an stationary isolated bubble subject to a sound field in an unbounded liquid was addressed; 2. The case of bubbles translating in a stationary pressure field was then considered; 3. This was followed by a study of the combined effects of sound and translation, 4. And of a neighboring boundary 5. Finally, a new method to deal with nonspherical bubbles was developed- In addition to the work on vapor bubbles, some studies on gas bubbles were conducted in view of NASA's interest in the phenomenon of sonoluminescence.

Prosperetti, Andrea↗

Vapor Bubbles in Flow and Acoustic Fields

The paper presents an order-of-magnitude analysis of the physical processes occurring during the pulsations of a vapor bubble subject to a sound field and shows several numerical examples relating to vapor bubbles in water with and without a translational velocity relative to the liquid. Finally, the growth and collapse of a bubble in a small tube under the action of a heat pulse is considered and it is pointed out that, in suitable conditions, a potentially useful pumping effect without mechanical moving parts can be achieved.

Prosperetti, Andrea↗

Acoustic Behavior of Vapor Bubbles

In a microgravity environment vapor bubbles generated at a boiling surface tend to remain near it for a long time. This affects the boiling heat transfer and in particular promotes an early transition to the highly inefficient film boiling regime. This paper describes the physical basis underlying attempts to remove the bubbles by means of pressure radiation forces.

Prosperetti, Andrea↗