Acoustic Localization in Weakly Compressible Elastic Media Permeated with Air Bubbles

The propagation of longitudinal acoustic waves in weakly compressible elastic media permeated with air bubbles is investigated on the basis of the radial pulsation equation of a single bubble. The multiple scattering of waves in such media is rigorously described by using a self-consistent approach. Theoretical results show that there exists strong acoustic localization in a range of frequency slightly above the bubble resonance frequency, even for a very small volume fraction of bubbles. Further study reveals that the localization is in fact attributed to collection behaviour of bubbles, allowing for an efficient cancellation of propagating waves. This is essentially consistent with the known conclusions recently drawn for bubbly liquid by Kou et al. 2003 Appl. Phys. Lett. 83 4247