Local flow around a tiny bubble under a pressure-oscillation field in a viscoelastic worm-like micellar solution

The motion of a tiny air bubble in an aqueous solution of cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide and sodium salicylate (CTAB/NaSal), which forms wormlike micelles, was observed using a high-speed polarization camera. Complex local flow is observed around the bubble surface because the bubble shape deforms repeatedly at 100 Hz. The camera can be used to measure the retardation distribution, which is related to the stress field around the bubble. Different retardation and orientation angle distributions were observed during the contraction and expansion phases. In the contraction phase, a strong retardation distribution appears at the tail of the cusped bubble. The occurrence of uniaxial elongation deformation is considered to be due to the negative wake because they are closely correlated. In contrast, a weak retardation distribution spreads at the upper side of the bubble during the expansion phase, where biaxial extensional deformation occurs due to expansion of the bubble surface. These significant changes in strong elastic stress distributions, which correspond to the orientation angle profiles, can result in increase of bubble rising velocities.