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The development of a bubble rising in a viscous liquid

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 May 1999

LI CHEN
Affiliation:
Advanced Thermal-Fluid Technologies Laboratory, Division of Building, Construction and Engineering, CSIRO, P.O. Box 56, Highett, Victoria 3190, Australia; e-mail: [email protected]
SURESH V. GARIMELLA
Affiliation:
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WN 53201, USA; e-mail: [email protected]
JOHN A. REIZES
Affiliation:
Faculty of Engineering, University of Technology, Sydney, Sydney 2007, Australia; e-mail: [email protected]
EDDIE LEONARDI
Affiliation:
School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, The University of New South Wales, Sydney 2052, Australia; e-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

The rise and deformation of a gas bubble in an otherwise stationary liquid contained in a closed, right vertical cylinder is investigated using a modified volume-of-fluid (VOF) method incorporating surface tension stresses. Starting from a perfectly spherical bubble which is initially at rest, the upward motion of the bubble in a gravitational field is studied by tracking the liquid–gas interface. The gas in the bubble can be treated as incompressible. The problem is simulated using primitive variables in a control-volume formulation in conjunction with a pressure–velocity coupling based on the SIMPLE algorithm. The modified VOF method used in this study is able to identify and physically treat features such as bubble deformation, cusp formation, breakup and joining. Results in a two-dimensional as well as a three-dimensional coordinate framework are presented. The bubble deformation and its motion are characterized by the Reynolds number, the Bond number, the density ratio, and the viscosity ratio. The effects of these parameters on the bubble rise are demonstrated. Physical mechanisms are discussed for the computational results obtained, especially the formation of a toroidal bubble. The results agree with experiments reported in the literature.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
© 1999 Cambridge University Press

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