A CFD comparative study of bubble break-up models in a turbulent multiphase jet

In this paper several bubble break-up models are compared. They have been implemented in the CFX-4.4 fluid dynamic commercial code, which uses the population balance equations for describing liquid/gas multi-phase flows. The models have been assessed against published experimental data, obtained for air bubble break-up within a turbulent water jet. The model of Martínez-Bazán, based on purely kinematics arguments, has shown better agreement with the experimental data. The capabilities of using these models coupled to a CFD code for multiphase flow prediction in industrial applications have been demonstrated.