Cavitation has been widely used in wastewater degradation, material synthesis and biomedical field under dual-frequency acoustic excitation. The applications of cavitation are closely related to the power (i.e. the rate of internal energy accumulation) during bubble collapse. The Keller–Miksis equation considering liquid viscosity, surface tension and liquid compressibility is used to describe the radial motion of the bubble. The model is built in predicting the power during bubble collapse under dual-frequency acoustic excitation. The influences of parameters (i.e. phase difference, frequency difference, and amplitude ratio) on the power are investigated numerically. With the increase of phase difference, the power can be fluctuated in a wide range at all conditions. Three typical characteristics of the power appear under the effects of frequency difference and amplitude ratio. With the increase of amplitude ratio, if the frequency difference is small, the power has two maximum values; and if the frequency difference is medium, there is a maximum value. Otherwise, the power monotonously decreases. The results can provide theoretical references for the selections of experimental parameters of sonoluminescence and sonochemistry in the dual-frequency acoustic field.

Topics of this article concern the study of the fundamental nature of the sonoluminescence phenomenon occurring in liquids. At the Institute of Electrical Power Engineering at Opole University of Technology the interest in that phenomenon known as secondary phenomenon of cavitation caused by ultrasound became the genesis of a research project concerning acoustic cavitation in mineral insulation oils in which a number of additional experiments performed in the laboratory aimed to determine the influence of a number of acoustic parameters on the process of the studied phenomenona. The main purpose of scientific research subject undertaken was to determine the relationship between the generation of partial discharges in high-voltage power transformer insulation systems, the issue of gas bubbles in transformer oils and the generated acoustic emission signals. It should be noted that currently in the standard approach, the phenomenon of generation of acoustic waves accompanying the occurrence of partial discharges is generally treated as a secondary phenomenon, but it can also be a source of many other related phenomena. Based on our review of the literature data on those referred subjects taken, it must be noted, that this problem has not been clearly resolved, and the description of the relationship between these phenomena is still an open question. This study doesn’t prove all in line with the objective of the study, but can be an inspiration for new research project in the future in this topic. Solution of this problem could be a step forward in the diagnostics of insulation systems for electrical Power devices based on non-invasive acoustic emission method.