Effect of viscosity on the dynamics of a non-equilibrium bubble in free-field and near a free-surface

The effect of viscosity on the behaviour of a non-equilibrium bubble is investigated experimentally, in two scenarios; firstly, when the bubble is generated in the bulk of the fluid (termed as free-field'' bubble) and secondly when the bubble is generated near a free-surface (termed as free-surface’’ bubble). The bubble is created using a low-voltage spark circuit and its dynamics is captured using a high-speed camera with back-lit illumination. The viscosity of the surrounding fluid is varied by using different grades of silicone oil. For a free-field'' bubble, the bubble oscillates radially and as the viscosity of the liquid increases, the number of oscillations, as well as the time-period of each oscillation, are increased. At high viscosities, the bubble also becomes stable and does not disintegrate into smaller bubbles. For free-surface’’ bubbles, two parameters, namely, the initial distance of the bubble from the free-surface and the viscosity of the surrounding fluid are varied. It is observed that beyond a certain initial distance of the bubble from the free-surface, the bubble behaves as a ``free-field’’ bubble with negligible influence of the free-surface on its dynamics. This limiting initial distance decreases as the liquid viscosity is increased and is not dependent on the bubble radius. For these bubbles, different behaviours of the free-surface in each liquid are also presented as a function of the two parameters.