Bubble formation from sub-millimeter orifices: Experimental analysis and modeling

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

Abstract

We developed a theoretical model that estimates the bubble size from sub-millimeter orifices under variable gas flow conditions. The model is successfully tested for orifices with diameters in the range of 0.2 mm to 1 mm under both quasi-static and dynamic bubbling regimes. The model is able to predict the final bubble radius with an accuracy better than 20% compared with the experimental results. Moreover, we explicitly look into the influence of the gas reservoir volume Vc upstream of the orifice on the gas reservoir pressure Pc by simultaneously monitoring the events, i.e. changes in the state of bubble, upstream and downstream of orifices. We found that, variations in Pc reduce as Vc increases. Analysis of the dynamics of the dominating forces acting on a bubble show that, enlarging Vc mainly amplifies the gas momentum force and the liquid inertia force. Hence, the bubble detachment mechanism may no longer be only buoyancy driven.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article number108809
JournalChemical Engineering and Processing - Process Intensification
Volume173
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2022
Peer-reviewedYes

Keywords

Keywords

  • Bubble dynamics, Bubble formation, Gas reservoir, Modeling, Sub-millimeter orifice