The complex sound-propagation constant is calculated for liquid-vapor mixtures. At low frequencies, the sound velocity is a function of the mixture quality or relative masses of the phases. At intermediate frequencies, the propagation depends on the sound frequency and also on the size distribution of the discontinuous phase. At high frequencies, the propagation is essentially a function of the predominant phase. Calculations at intermediate frequencies lead to complicated expressions for the wave-propagation constants. This is true even for an idealized 2-phase fluid as, for example, a vapor fog containing uniformly dispersed droplets of equal size. Simplified expressions taking into account drag and heat transfer between the phases yield estimates of the relaxation times or time constants associated with these processes. These time constants determine the region of frequency and aggregate sizes of the individual phases in which these parameters have little effect on the propagation constants. [Work supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.]
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