A broadband acoustic technique for measuring bubble size distributions

Abstract

The development of a broadband sound velocimeter that allows the simultaneous measurement of sound speed and attenuation over a wide range of frequencies is described. The velocimeter measures the attenuation and dispersion of a broadband acoustic pulse over frequencies ranging from 4 to 100 kHz across a fixed pathlength using a two-transducer system. The resulting data are inverted to arrive at bubble size distributions over bubble radii in the range 30-800 m.The instrument was tested in the large wave channel at the Hydraulics Laboratory of Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The channel can generate breaking waves of O(1 m) height using a hydraulically driven wave generator, giving bubble size distributions similar to those found in the field. The presence of the bubbles significantly changes the acoustical properties of the water. Internal consistency checks of the acoustic data and measurements of bubbles using an independent optical sizing technique support the accuracy of the acoustic system in measuring bubble size distributions.A field test of the system was performed off Scripps Pier in water of approximately 6-m depth. Observations demonstrate that bubble transport events with significant temporal and spatial variability are associated with rip currents and introduce significant vertical gradients in the acoustical properties of the water. The performance of the system in the field was found to be comparable to that found in the laboratory.