Interaction between collapsing bubble and viscoelastic solid: Numerical modelling and simulation

•Interaction of collapsing bubble with viscoelastic solid is investigated numerically.•A Zener viscoelastic model is incorporated into coupled BE and FE calculations.•The Zener model accommodates stiffness variation of viscoelastic solid with time.•The viscoelasticity affects both bubble collapsing and solid deformation.•Bubble sizes and locations influence a viscoelastic solid response to fluid pressure.

In this paper, a fluid–solid interaction algorithm is developed to study the interaction between a collapsing bubble and a deformable viscoelastic solid, which is accomplished by coupled boundary-element (BE) and finite-element (FE) calculations incorporating a Zener type viscoelastic model. The boundary-element method (BEM) is used to simulate the physical process of bubble growth, contraction and collapse while the finite element method (FEM) is used to calculate the viscoelastic solid response to the impulsive pressure induced by the bubble collapse. The implementation of the Zener type viscoelastic model is critical for this study to accommodate the stiffness variation of a viscoelastic solid with time under the pressure. The study reveals the effects of the viscoelastic properties, different maximum bubble sizes and bubble locations on the dynamic response of the viscoelastic solid. Interesting insights into the complex problem of the interaction between a collapsing bubble and a deformable viscoelastic solid are obtained, which can be useful for potential application in biomedicine or marine industry.