A two-dimensional nonlinear model for the generation of stable cavitation bubbles

•We model the two-dimensional generation of gas bubbles in a liquid.•We set a nonlinear relation between void fraction and pressure above a threshold.•We assume nonlinear bubble oscillations and nonlinear pressure waves.•We show that the created bubbles affect the ultrasonic field nonlinearly.

Bubbles appear by acoustic cavitation in a liquid when rarefaction pressures attain a specific threshold value in a liquid. Once they are created, the stable cavitation bubbles oscillate nonlinearly and affect the ultrasonic field. Here we present a model developed for the study of bubble generation in a liquid contained in a two-dimensional cavity in which a standing ultrasonic field is established. The model considers dissipation and dispersion due to the bubbles. It also assumes that both the ultrasonic field and the bubble oscillations are nonlinear. The numerical experiments predict where the bubbles are generated from a population of nuclei distributed in the liquid and show how they affect the ultrasonic field.