Heat transfer in sound propagation and attenuation through gas–liquid polyhedral foams

A cell method is developed, which takes into account the bubble geometry of polyhedral foams, and provides for the generalized Rayleigh–Plesset equation that contains the non-local in time term corresponding to heat relaxation. The Rayleigh–Plesset equation together with the equations of mass and momentum balances for an effective single-phase inviscid fluid yield a model for foam acoustics. The present calculations reconcile observed sound velocity and attenuation with those predicted using the assumption that thermal dissipation is the dominant damping mechanism in a range of foam expansions and sound excitation frequencies.