Schubspannungen an festen und elastischen Oberflächen durch Ultraschallkavitation

Interest in bubble-induced shear stress is motivated by a variety of technological, chemical and biomedical applications, where this effect is used. Ultrasonic cleaning, micromixing of liquids, intensification of chemical reactions and heat-exchange processes are examples of such applications in the engineering field. In the biomedical field, ultrasound-mediated drug delivery, ultrasound-induced blood-brain barrier opening, bacteria lysis or disinfection are examples of bubble-mediated bioeffects. During decades research works mainly focused on the violent mechanisms resulting from bubble collapses, including shockwave emissions and the generation of microjets. Recent sensitive applications have demonstrated that purely oscillating bubbles may also produce significant mechanical effects on rigid or elastic surfaces through the generation of shear stress. This shear stress results from the liquid flows created in vicinity of the oscillating bubbles. Up to now, the influence and modification of surfaces by bubble-induced shear stress has been mostly investigated qualitatively. The quantitative measurement of shear stress, as well as the potential control of the force exerted by an oscillating or a collapsing bubble near rigid and elastic surfaces, remain challenging.
The CaviStress project consequently focuses on the quantification of bubble-induced shear stress, through theoretical, numerical and experimental investigations of the interplay between a cavitation bubble and an in-vicinity interface. The main objective of the project is the control and optimization of wall shear stresses induced by cavitating bubbles, and its application in two different fields: (i) the particle removal on solid surfaces, and (ii) the molecular uptake into biological cells.
We investigate theoretically and numerically the shear stress induced by oscillating and collapsing bubbles both in bulk fluid and near rigid or elastic walls. The bubble-induced liquid flows are derived theoretically. The fundamental findings are compared to controlled experiments, from the single bubble case to a realistic multi-bubble streamer where turbulence and mixing occur. Once the liquid flows are characterized, the shear stress is theoretically and numerically quantified. Experimental investigation of the impact of shear stress on rigid walls focuses on its scaling dependence, thus allowing to identify parameter ranges where damage-free cleaning of sensible surfaces is feasible. In parallel, experimental studies of the shear stress on elastic walls focus on the internalization of molecules into biological cells by evaluating the cell poration efficiency from well controlled oscillating or collapsing bubbles. The expected quantification and differentiation of the bubble-induced mechanical effects paves the path to improved ultrasound-based procedures for cleaning and drug delivery through bubbles.