THE ENERGY PARTITION OF UNDERWATER SPARKS

Underwater sparks have long been used by the geophysical prospecting c ommunity as a source of intense low-frequency sound. While bubble hydr odynamic models are well developed, the mechanism of transferring ener gy from the thermal power input, through the various energy conversion channels, to the work done by the bubble has not been adequately stud ied. In this work an ab initio model of the bubble dynamics, including blackbody ablation, ionization, dissociation, and radiative transport , is developed. This model is a first step in enumerating the importan t physical mechanisms within bubbles generated by underwater sparks. T he predictions of this model are compared with experimental results. E xperimental work is still needed to validate the model, and to determi ne if and how model parameters related to actual physical parameters a nd measurable effects. (C) 1996 Acoustical Society of America.