Shock structure in bubbly liquids: comparison of direct numerical simulations and model equations

Shock wave structure in a bubbly mixture composed of a cluster of gas bubbles in a quiescent liquid with initial void fractions around 10% inside a 3D rectangular domain excited by a sudden increase in the pressure at one boundary is investigated using the front tracking/finite volume method. The effects of bubble/bubble interactions and bubble deformations are, therefore, investigated for further modeling. The liquid is taken to be incompressible while the bubbles are assumed to be compressible. The gas pressure inside the bubbles is taken uniform and is assumed to vary isothermally. Results obtained for the pressure distribution at different locations along the direction of propagation show the characteristics of one-dimensional unsteady shock propagation evolving towards steady-state. The steady-state shock structures obtained by the present direct numerical simulations, which show a transition from A-type to C-type steady-state shock structures, are compared with those obtained by the classical Rayleigh–Plesset equation and by a modified Rayleigh–Plesset equation accounting for bubble/bubble interactions in the mean-field theory.      

Direct numerical simulation of a liquid sheet in a compressible gas stream in axisymmetric and planar configurations

A thin liquid sheet present in the shear layer of a compressible gas jet is investigated using an Eulerian approach with mixed-fluid treatment for the governing equations describing the gas–liquid two-phase flow system, where the gas is treated as fully compressible and the liquid as incompressible. The effects of different topological configurations, surface tension, gas pressure and liquid sheet thickness on the flow development of the gas–liquid two-phase flow system have been examined by direct solution of the compressible Navier–Stokes equations using highly accurate numerical schemes. The interface dynamics are captured using volume of fluid and continuum surface force models. The simulations show that the dispersion of the liquid sheet is dominated by vortical structures formed at the jet shear layer due to the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability. The axisymmetric case is less vortical than its planar counterpart that exhibits formation of larger vortical structures and larger liquid dispersion. It has been identified that the vorticity development and the liquid dispersion in a planar configuration are increased at the absence of surface tension, which when present, tends to oppose the development of the Kelvin–Helmholtz instability. An opposite trend was observed for an axisymmetric configuration where surface tension tends to promote the development of vorticity. An increase in vorticity development and liquid dispersion was observed for increased liquid sheet thickness, while a decreasing trend was observed for higher gas pressure. Therefore surface tension, liquid sheet thickness and gas pressure factors all affect the flow vorticity which consequently affects the dispersion of the liquid.      

Propagation of nonlinear waves in an inhomogeneous gas-liquid medium. Derivation of wave equations in the Korteweg-de Vries approximation

Equations describing the propagation of waves of small but finite amplitude in a liquid with gas bubbles are derived. The bubble distribution density is a continuous function of bubble size and spatial coordinates. It is found that, for a uniform bubble distribution, the obtained equations become the Korteweg-de Vries, Kadomtsev-Petviashvili and Khokhlov-Zabolotskaya equations. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 50, No. 2, pp. 188–197, March–April, 2009.     

Optimization of shock-wave action on a spherical bubble in an ideal incompressible liquid

The possibility of controlling the oscillations of a spherical gas bubble in an ideal incompressible liquid is subjected to theoretical analysis. Liquid surface tension forces are not taken into account. The optimization process realizing a maximum of the radius amplitude and a maximum of the gas pressure in the bubble for a given impulsive change of pressure at infinity is considered. A shock-resonance bubble oscillation procedure giving stepwise pressure changes at the extrema of the radius is constructed. This problem is of interest in connection with the investigation of cavitation erosion [1] and processes in biological tissues [2–4]. Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 5, pp. 175–178, September–October, 1988.     

Acoustic waves in liquids with polydisperse gas bubbles. Comparison of theory and experiment

A mathematical model describing the propagation of acoustic waves of different geometry in two-fraction mixtures of a liquid with polydisperse gas bubbles of different composition is presented. A system of differential equations for the perturbed motion of the two-phase mixture is formulated and a dispersion relation is obtained. The theory developed is compared with known experimental data, including those for a near-resonance bubble frequency.     

Forced oscillations of a gas bubble in a spherical volume of a compressible liquid

A spherically symmetric problem of oscillations of a single gas bubble at the center of a spherical flask filled with a compressible liquid under the action of pressure oscillations on the flask wall is considered. A system of differential-difference equations is obtained that extends the Rayleigh-Plesset equation to the case of a compressible liquid and takes into account the pressure-wave reflection from the bubble and the flask wall. A linear analysis of solutions of this system of equations is performed for the case of harmonic oscillations of the bubble. Nonlinear resonance oscillations and nearly resonance nonharmonic oscillations of the bubble caused by harmonic pressure oscillations on the flask wall are analyzed. Ufa Scientific Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Ufa 450000. Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 40, No. 2, pp. 111–118, March–April, 1999.     

Dynamics and radiation of a single bubble under conditions of abnormal compressibility of a bubbly liquid

An equation is proposed for the pulsation of a single cavity in an abnormally compressible bubbly liquid which is in pressure equilibrium and whose state is described by the Lyakhov equation. In the equilibrium case, this equation is significantly simplified. Numerical analysis is performed of the bubble dynamics and acoustic losses (the profile and amplitude of the radiation wave generated on the bubble wall from the side of the liquid). It is shown that as the volumetric gas concentration k₀ in the equilibrium bubbly medium increases, the degree of compression of the cavity by stationary shock wave decreases and its pulsations decrease considerably and disappear already at k₀ = 3%. In the compression process, the cavity asymptotically reaches an equilibrium state that does not depend on the value of k₀ and is determined only by the shock-wave amplitude. The radiation wave takes the shape of a soliton whose amplitude is much smaller and whose width is considerably greater than the corresponding parameters in a single-phase liquid. __________ Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 48, No. 3, pp. 51–57, May–June, 2007.     

An investigation on near wall transport characteristics in an adiabatic upward gas–liquid two-phase slug flow

The near-wall transport characteristics, inclusive of mass transfer coefficient and wall shear stress, which have a great effect on gas–liquid two-phase flow induced internal corrosion of low alloy pipelines in vertical upward oil and gas mixing transport, have been both mechanistically and experimentally investigated in this paper. Based on the analyses on the hydrodynamic characteristics of an upward slug unit, the mass transfer in the near wall can be divided into four zones, Taylor bubble nose zone, falling liquid film zone, Taylor bubble wake zone and the remaining liquid slug zone; the wall shear stress can be divided into two zones, the positive wall shear stress zone associated with the falling liquid film and the negative wall shear stress zone associated with the liquid slug. Based on the conventional mass transfer and wall shear stress characteristics formulas of single phase liquid full-pipe turbulent flow, corrected normalized mass transfer coefficient formula and wall shear stress formula are proposed. The calculated results are in good agreement with the experimental data. The shear stress and the mass transfer coefficient in the near wall zone are increased with the increase of superficial gas velocity and decreased with the increase of superficial liquid velocity. The mass transfer coefficients in the falling liquid film zone and the wake zone of leading Taylor bubble are lager than those in the Taylor bubble nose zone and the remaining liquid slug zone, and the wall shear stress associated falling liquid film is larger than that associated the liquid slug. The mass transfer coefficient is within 10⁻³ m/s, and the wall shear stress below 10³ Pa. It can be concluded that the alternate wall shear stress due to upward gas–liquid slug flow is considered to be the major cause of the corrosion production film fatigue cracking.     

Single cavitation bubble generation and observation of the bubble collapse flow induced by a pressure wave

This study utilizes a U-shape platform device to generate a single cavitation bubble for a detailed analysis of the flow field characteristics and the cause of the counter jet during the process of bubble collapse caused by sending a pressure wave. A high speed camera is used to record the flow field of the bubble collapse at different distances from a solid boundary. It is found that a Kelvin–Helmholtz vortex is formed when a liquid jet penetrates the bubble surface after the bubble is compressed and deformed. If the bubble center to the solid boundary is within one to three times the bubble’s radius, a stagnation ring will form on the boundary when impinged by the liquid jet. The fluid inside the stagnation ring will be squeezed toward the center of the ring to form a counter jet after the bubble collapses. At the critical position, where the bubble center from the solid boundary is about three times the bubble’s radius, the bubble collapse flow will vary. Depending on the strengths of the pressure waves applied, the collapse can produce a Kelvin–Helmholtz vortex, the Richtmyer–Meshkov instability, or the generation of a counter jet flow. If the bubble surface is in contact with the solid boundary, the liquid jet can only move inside-out without producing the stagnation ring and the counter jet; thus, the bubble collapses along the radial direction. The complex phenomenon of cavitation bubble collapse flows is clearly manifested in this study.     

Forced nonlinear oscillations of a gas bubble in a large spherical flask (resonator) filled with a fluid

Radial oscillations of a gas bubble in a large spherical flask filled with a fluid are considered. We derive an equation of the change of the bubble radius by the known law of pressure variation at the boundary of the liquid volume (the law of motion of the piston) for a period of time during which, repeatedly reflected from the piston, the leading front of the reflected-from-the bubble perturbations reaches the bubble. For further calculations of the change of the bubble radius, recurrent relations which include the wave reflected from the bubble in the previous cycle and its subsequent reflection from the piston are obtained. Under harmonic action of the piston on the fluid-bubble system, a certain periodic regime with a package of bubble oscillations is established. Institute of Mechanics, Ural Scientific Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Ufa 450000. Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika i Tekhnicheskaya Fizika, Vol. 39, No. 5, pp. 77–87, September–October, 1998.     

The axisymmetric vibrations of a cylindrical incompressible liquid column with a gas bubble

The axisymmetric vibrations of an ideal incompressible liquid column in a rigid circular cylindrical vessel with a spherical gas bubble pulsating near the position of dynamic equilibrium are considered. The boundary-value problem for the liquid velocity potential and the equations for the vibrations of the gas bubble are solved under the conditions on the free surface, sidewall, and the boundary of the gas body. For the case of small amplitudes, the resonance frequencies of the system are determined, and the pressure field in the liquid column is constructed. The results are compared with data known for the gas-accumulation model, data obtained without allowance for the boundedness of the liquid, and experimental data. National Technical University (KPI), Kiev, Ukraine. Translated from Prikladnaya Mekhanika, Vol. 36, No. 7, pp. 74–80, July, 2000.     

Multivelocity effects in high-pressure-gradient flows of dilute bubbly media

The multivelocity effects associated with the behavior of gas or vapor bubbles in a region with high pressure gradients typical of the flows around a cavity in which the pressure is higher than that in the surrounding space are considered. For a low volume bubble concentration, the problem of fluid flow perturbation by the bubbles is examined. For gas bubbles, it is shown that taking multivelocity effects into account considerably reduces the additional jet momentum. It is found that, with time, the temperature distribution in the wake behind a vapor bubble becomes nonmonotonic and the maximum temperature may even exceed the initial bubble temperature. It is demonstrated that the bubbles may accumulate and a flow regime with a sharply pronounced two-phase jet extending to the outer edge of the main liquid jet may develop. Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, pp. 87–100, January–February, 1998. The work received financial support from the Russian Foundation for Fundamental Research (project No.96-01-01442).     

Nucleation and growth of a gas bubble in magma

The dynamics of a “collective” gas bubble in the magma melt during its decompression was numerically studied on the basis of a complete mathematical models of an explosive volcanic eruption. It is shown that the bubble size distribution obtained for the nucleation process has one peak, which allows considering a “collective” bubble. The main stages of bubble growth due to gas diffusion and changes in the viscosity of the medium are determined. It is shown that the high viscosity of the melt makes possible the transition from the Rayleigh equation to a simpler relation for the radial velocity of the bubble.     

Radial oscillations of soluble vapor-gas bubbles in a liquid

Soluble vapor-gas bubbles performing small radial oscillations in a liquid are considered. The heat- and mass-transfer processes and temperature and concentration inhomogeneities in the vaporgas mixture are taken into account. Expressions for the damping rate of radial oscillations of soluble vapor-gas bubbles are obtained. In [1–3] the dynamics of vapor-gas bubble oscillations were considered for a gas insoluble in liquid.     

Dynamics of a “collective” bubble in a magma melt flow behind the decompression wave front

Specific features of the dynamics of the wave field structure and growth of a “collective” bubble behind the decompression wave front in the “Lagrangian” section of the formed cavitation zone are numerically analyzed. Two cases are considered: with no diffusion of the dissolved gas from the melt to cavitation nuclei and with the diffusion flux providing an increase in the gas mass in the bubbles. In the first case, it is shown that an almost smooth decompression wave front approximately 100 m wide is formed, with minor perturbations that appear when the front of saturation of the cavitation zone with nuclei is passed. In the case of the diffusion process, the melt state behind the saturation front is principally different: jumps in mass velocity and viscosity are observed in the vicinity of the free surface, and the pressure in the “collective” cavitation bubble remains unchanged for a sufficiently long time interval, despite the bubble growth and intense diffusion of the gas from the melt. It is assumed that the diffusion process (and, therefore, viscosity) actually become factors determining the dynamics of growth of cavitation bubbles beginning from this time interval. A pressure jump is demonstrated to form near the free surface.     

Vortex ring modelling of toroidal bubbles

During the collapse of a bubble near a surface, a high-speed liquid jet often forms and subsequently impacts upon the opposite bubble surface. The jet impact transforms the originally singly-connected bubble to a toroidal bubble, and generates circulation in the flow around it. A toroidal bubble simulation is presented by introducing a vortex ring seeded inside the bubble torus to account for the circulation. The velocity potential is then decomposed into the potential of the vortex ring and a remnant potential. Because the remnant potential is continuous and satisfies the Laplace equation, it can be modelled by the boundary-integral method, and this circumvents an explicit domain cut and associated numerical treatment. The method is applied to study the collapse of gas bubbles in the vicinity of a rigid wall. Good agreement is found with the results of Best (J. Fluid Mech. 251 79–107, 1993), obtained by a domain cut method. Examination of the pressure impulse on the wall during jet impact indicates that the high-speed liquid jet has a significant potential for causing damage to a surface. There appears to be an optimal initial distance where the liquid jet is most damaging.     

Acoustic waves in two-fraction mixtures of gas with vapor,droplets and solid particles of different materials and sizes in the presence of phase transitions

The propagation of acoustic waves in two-fraction mixtures of gas with vapor, droplets and solid particles of different materials and sizes in the presence of phase transitions is investigated. A mathematical model is presented, the dispersion and wave equations are obtained, and the dispersion curves are calculated. The relative sonic velocity and the attenuation decrement on the wave length are analyzed as functions of the oscillation frequency for an “air-vapor-liquid droplet-sand particle” mixture. Using the fast Fourier transform, the propagation of pulse disturbances in the two-fraction disperse systems is calculated.     

Trapped Gas Fraction During Steady-State Foam Flow

Trapped or stationary gas contributes significantly to the extent of gas mobility reduction for aqueous foams. Simultaneous measurements of effluent bubble sizes and trapped gas saturation in sandstone are reported for the first time. Roughly 80% of the gas saturation in an aqueous foam is stationary at steady state in this permeable porous medium. The experiments show that as gas velocity increases, the trapped gas fraction decreases. Similarly, as injected gas–liquid ratio increases, the trapped gas fraction decreases. Hence, the absolute velocities of gas and aqueous surfactant solution are fundamental to foamed-gas mobility reduction for they help determine in situ foam texture. Effluent foam bubbles range in size from 60 to 120 μm in diameter. The smaller the effluent bubble, the smaller is the fraction of mobile gas. Scaling laws from network percolation theory are used to engender a mechanistic understanding of the various parameters identified as important in the experimental program. The closed form approimation predicts that the trapped gas fraction is a weak function of pressure gradient, foam-bubble size, and the permeability of the porous medium. Moreover, the theory reproduces well the newly obtained experimental data.     

Buoyancy-driven motion of a two-dimensional bubble or drop through a viscous liquid in the presence of a vertical electric field

The effect of an electric field on the buoyancy-driven motion of a two-dimensional gas bubble rising through a quiescent liquid is studied computationally. The dynamics of the bubble is simulated numerically by tracking the gas–liquid interface when an electrostatic field is generated in the vertical gap of the rectangular enclosure. The two phases of the system are assumed to be perfect dielectrics with constant but different permittivities, and in the absence of impressed charges, there is no free charge in the fluid bulk regions or at the interface. Electric stresses are supported at the bubble interface but absent in the bulk and one of the objectives of our computations is to quantify the effect of these Maxwell stresses on the overall bubble dynamics. The numerical algorithm to solve the free-boundary problem relies on the level-set technique coupled with a finite-volume discretization of the Navier–Stokes equations. The sharp interface is numerically approximated by a finite-thickness transition zone over which the material properties vary smoothly, and surface tension and electric field effects are accounted for by employing a continuous surface force approach. A multi-grid solver is applied to the Poisson equation describing the pressure field and the Laplace equation governing the electric field potential. Computational results are presented that address the combined effects of viscosity, surface tension, and electric fields on the dynamics of the bubble motion as a function of the Reynolds number, gravitational Bond number, electric Bond number, density ratio, and viscosity ratio. It is established through extensive computations that the presence of the electric field can have an important effect on the dynamics. We present results that show a substantial increase in the bubble’s rise velocity in the electrified system as compared with the corresponding non-electrified one. In addition, for the electrified system, the bubble shape deformations and oscillations are smaller, and there is a reduction in the propensity of the bubble to break up through increasingly larger oscillations.     

On the stability of gas bubbles in liquid-gas solutions

It was shown some time ago by use of diffusion theory that a gas bubble in a liquid-gas solution was unstable. This problem has been reconsidered recently in two papers both of which propose to develop a stability analysis solely from thermodynamic considerations. The first of these studies purports to find stability for a gas bubble in a liquid-gas solution. Some possible sources of error in this analysis are mentioned here. The second study considers a particular system of a bubble in a liquid drop immersed in a second liquid in which the gas is insoluble. A condition of stability is then found. This system is reconsidered here simply in terms of the ideas of diffusion theory. The stability conditions may then be stated in simple physical terms.