Droplet production from disintegrating bubbles at water surfaces. Single vs. multiple bubbles

We experimentally determine the droplet production rate at a water surface where either single or multiple bubbles (bubbly flow) with similar mean diameters disintegrate and produce film and jet droplets. A detailed assessment of film drop production from bubbly flow is important, since most presently used correlations are based on single-bubble measurements. Moreover, jet drops––even though they contain a much larger fluid volume––are de-entrained into the water surface in most technical and geophysical applications. Detailed phase Doppler anemometry (PDA) measurements are performed in the vicinity of the water surface with long sampling times. For a considered mean diameter of approximately 3 mm, the size distribution of the non spherical bubbles is determined from photographic images. From single-bubble measurements we find, consistent with literature data, a narrow size distribution of the jet drops with a mean diameter of 477 μm. For bubbly flow, the maximum is shifted to somewhat smaller jet drop diameters (425 μm) and the production of film droplets increases significantly. We relate this increase to the coalescence of bubbles prior to their disintegration at the surface. Our results therefore show that for a fixed bubble size and gas flow rate the number of film drops entrained from a bubbly flow is underestimated, if the estimate is based on single-bubble data.     

Observations of acoustically generated cavitation bubbles within typical fluids applied to a scroll expander lubrication system

An experimental study to evaluate the dynamic performance of three different types of cavitation bubbles is conducted. An ultrasonic transducer submerged into the working fluids of a scroll expander is utilised to produce cavitation bubbles and a high speed camera device is used to capture their behaviour. Three critical regions around the ultrasonic source, between the source and the solid boundary, and across the solid boundary were observed. Experimental results revealed that refrigerant bubbles sustain a continuous oscillatory movement, referenced as “wobbling effect”, without regularly collapsing. Analytical results indicate the influence of several factors such as surface tension/viscosity ratio, Reynolds number and Weber number which interpret that particular behaviour of the refrigerant bubbles. Within the refrigerant environment the bubbles obtain large Reynolds numbers and low Weber numbers. In contrast, within the lubricant and the water environment Weber number is significantly higher and Reynolds number substantially lower. The bubble radius and velocity alterations are accurately calculated during the cavitation process. Lubricant bubbles achieve the highest jet velocity while refrigerant bubbles having the lowest jet velocity are not considered as a destructive mean of cavitation for scroll expander systems.     

Mass transfer from a pulsating drop

The primary difficulty in solving the problem of mass transport through an isolated drop (or bubble) moving in a fluid medium at high Reynolds numbers lies in the extreme complexity of the hydrodynamic pattern of the phenomenon. For sufficiently high velocities a separation of the external flow will occur in the rear portion of the drops and bubbles, which leads to the appearance of a turbulent wake and a sharp increase of the hydrodynamic resistance. Beginning with those dimensions for which the resistance force acting per unit surface of the drop or bubble from the external medium becomes greater than the capillary pressure, the surface of the drops and bubbles begins to deform and pulsate. The local variations of the surface tension, resulting either from the process of convective diffusion or from adsorption of surface-active substances, have a large effect on the hydrodynamics of drops and bubbles (particularly on the deformation of their surface) [1, 2], The presence of vortical, and possibly even turbulent, motion within the drops and bubbles may, under certain conditions [1], lead to their fractionation.Naturally, at the present time such complex hydrodynamics cannot be described by exact quantitative relations. Several authors have attempted to solve this problem approximately within the framework of certain assumptions. In particular [3–6], a theory was developed for the boundary layer on the surface of spherical and ellipsoidal gaseous bubbles moving in a liquid, studies were made [7, 8] of the hydrodynamics of drops located in a gas flow and the conditions were found for which fractionation of such drops takes place. Of considerable practical interest is the development of the theory of mass transfer in pulsating drops and bubbles and finding in explicit form the dependence of the mass transfer coefficients on the hydrodynamic characteristics of these systems. Until this relationship is established, every theory which ignores the effect of hydrodynamics on the mass transfer rate from an individual drop or bubble cannot be considered in any way well-founded. This relates particularly to the theories [9, 10] which consider mass transfer in systems with concentrated streams of drops and bubbles. The present paper is devoted to the study of mass transport through the surface of an isolated drop in an irrotational gas or liquid stream for large Peclet numbers P.In conclusion the authors wish to thank V. G. Levich for his helpful discussions.     

The mechanism of air bubble entrainment in self-aerated flow

The mechanism by which air bubbles are brought into a quick moving waterflow with free surface was studied. The processes taking place at the surface were visualized with a stroboscope. It shows, how the bubbles are generated by falling drops. The height of fall and the velocity with which a water drop must hit the surface in order to form an air bubble can be calculated by an energy balance. Measurements of diameter, height of fall and velocity of the drops as well as of the size of the bubbles coincide well with the obtained formulae. Results are valid for pure water and slightly dirty waste water. Such flows occur in steep smooth channels, spillways and strongly inclined partially filled conduits and pipelines.     

Observations on braided thin wire nucleate boiling in microgravity

A microgravity experiment was conducted on the Space Shuttle Endeavor (STS-108) to observe sustained nucleate boiling of water. Subcooled water was boiled with a single strand and a braid of three 0.16 mm diameter and 80 mm long Nichrome resistive wires. A CCD video camera recorded the experiment while six thermistors recorded the temperature of the fluid at various distances from the heating element. This paper reports experimental results in observations, measurements, and data analysis. Bubble explosions were found to take place shortly after the onset of boiling for both the single and braid of wires. The explosion may produce a high heat transfer rate, as it generates a cloud of microbubbles. The number, size, and departure rate of the bubbles from the heater wire were measured and compared with theoretical models as a function of time. The temperature measurements revealed a complex temperature distribution in the fluid chamber due to bubbles ejected from the wire that carried thermal energy close to the temperature sensors. Drag forces on departing bubbles were calculated based on bubble movement and used to predict bubble propagation. Results from this experiment provided further understanding of nucleate boiling dynamics in microgravity for the eventual design and implementation of two-phase heat transfer systems in space applications.     

液滴热毛细迁移问题的研究进展

液滴或气泡的迁移现象无论是在流体力学的基础研究中,还是在材料加工,化学工程等实际应用中都是一个很重要的课题。在微重力环境中,如果在液滴或气泡所在的母液中外加一个温度场,则液滴或气泡就会由于表面张力分布的不均匀而发生迁移运动。这种运动被称为Marangoni迁移或热毛细迁移运动。本文综述了液滴或气泡的热毛细迁移问题历史研究中理论分析,数值模拟以及实验方面的主要结果,阐述了该问题的研究发展过程。目前液滴迁移问题的研究状况,理论分析解还只限于线性及弱非线性的定常问题,数值模拟工作已经得到了在热对流作用比较小的时候液滴的非定常迁移过程,但是对于热对流影响很大的情况(Marangoni数大于100)则尚未得到过与实验中观测到的相一致的理论结果。本文在总结前人研究的基础上,同时给出了在对于热对流作用较大时液滴热毛细迁移非定常问题的最新的数值模拟的结果,并对该问题在此情况下产生的新的变化也给予了分析。最后,文中分析了当前研究中所存在的问题并进一步展望了液滴热毛细迁移问题在未来的发展方向。      

单空泡与自由液面相互作用规律研究进展

空化与空泡溃灭现象普遍存在于自然界、标识码械和生物医学等领域.空泡与自由面相互作用会产生瞬态强烈耦合,涉及到空泡非球形溃灭、自由面非线性变形及失标识码象,是流体力学领域重要的前沿与基础问题. 本文围绕这一热点,从空泡非球形演化和自由面变形规律角度出发,概标识码纳近年该领域的研究进展与成果. 对于近自由面空泡的非球形演化,基于表征开尔文冲量的无量纲参数,重点关注了体积振荡、射流生成、水锤效应及溃灭标识码生成等关键过程,介绍了关键参数的理论建模方法,获得了空泡溃灭过程中能量分配机制. 针对自由液面变形演化,根据细射流和粗射流生成和发展,归纳了 4 种典型现象及特点:透明水层及水柱生成、不稳定与稳标识码水裙结构. 进一步总结了开尔文冲量理论、界面凹陷奇点概念和泰勒不稳定性等理论模型的建立和应用,讨论了气泡溃灭过程、液面标识码界面稳定性等主要机制. 此外,本文也概述了空泡脉动对球状、圆柱状等非平面液面变形行为的影响,归纳了曲率对于液面变形的影响机制. 最后,针对目前研究状况提出该领域研究中尚未解决的问题,期望对将来的空泡及空泡群与自由液面相互作用深入研究提供借鉴.      

On the modeling and simulation of a laser‐induced cavitation bubble

Single cavitation bubbles exhibit severe modeling and simulation difficulties. This is due to the small scales of time and space as well as due to the involvement of different phenomena in the dynamics of the bubble. For example, the compressibility, phase transition, and the existence of a noncondensable gas inside the bubble have strong effects on the dynamics of the bubble. Moreover, the collapse of the bubble involves the occurrence of critical conditions for the pressure and temperature. This adds extra difficulties to the choice of equations of state. Even though several models and simulations have been used to study the dynamics of the cavitation bubbles, many details are still not clearly accounted for. Here, we present a numerical investigation for the collapse and rebound of a laser‐induced cavitation bubble in liquid water. The compressibility of the liquid and vapor are involved. In addition, great focus is devoted to study the effects of phase transition and the existence of a noncondensable gas on the dynamics of the collapsing bubble. If the bubble contains vapor only, we use the six‐equation model for two‐phase flows that was modified in our previous work [A. Zein, M. Hantke, and G. Warnecke, J. Comput. Phys., 229(8):2964‐2998, 2010]. This model is an extension to the six‐equation model with a single velocity of Kapila et al. (Phys. Fluid, 13:3002‐3024, 2001) taking into account the heat and mass transfer. To study the effect of a noncondensable gas inside the bubble, we add a third phase to the original model. In this case, the phase transition is considered only at interfaces that separate the liquid and its vapor. The stiffened gas equations of state are used as closure relations. We use our own method to determine the parameters to obtain reasonable equations of state for a wide range of temperatures and make them suitable for the phase transition effects. We compare our results with experimental ones. Also our results confirm some expected physical phenomena. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Simultaneous size and velocity measurements of cavitating microbubbles using interferometric laser imaging

In this paper, interferometric laser imaging droplet sizing—ILIDS—is applied to incipient cavitation in the wake of a marine propeller model with the aim to evaluate simultaneously bubbles velocity and diameter. Until now, the feasibility of this technique has been demonstrated especially in sprays of water droplets in air where an optimal light scattering is obtained thanks to the spherical shape and to the given relative refractive index. In the present setup, to allow simultaneous size–velocity measurements, a single camera is used and the object distance over lens diameter ratio is kept as small as possible, thus increasing the size measurement resolution. These details, together with the algorithms used for image analysis at each single frame and in two consecutive frames, allow deriving cavitation bubble size and velocity distributions in the propeller wake.     

Velocity field measurements of cavitating flows

A particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) system has been developed to study the microfluid mechanics of cavitating flows. Planar PIV was used to examine the non-cavitating flow in the thin boundary layer near a hydrofoil surface for the cases of a naturally developing boundary layer and a boundary layer stimulated to turbulence by roughness near the foil leading edge. PIV was also used to examine the flow near the surface of individual cavitation bubbles and incipient attached cavitation. A system was devised to create a single nucleus in the flow upstream of a hydrofoil, and planar PIV was used to study the flow around the resulting traveling cavitation bubble. Velocity vectors were determined close to the solid surfaces and the gas/liquid interfaces of the bubbles. Seeding of the flow with particles did not result in the addition of active cavitation nuclei.     

Two-phase flow and pool boiling heat transfer in microgravity

Researches on two-phase flow and pool boiling heat transfer in microgravity, which included ground-based tests, flight experiments, and theoretical analyses, were conducted in the National Microgravity Laboratory/CAS. A semi-theoretical Weber number model was proposed to predict the slug-to-annular flow transition of two-phase gas–liquid flows in microgravity, while the influence of the initial bubble size on the bubble-to-slug flow transition was investigated numerically using the Monte Carlo method. Two-phase flow pattern maps in microgravity were obtained in the experiments both aboard the Russian space station Mir and aboard IL-76 reduced gravity airplane. Mini-scale modeling was also used to simulate the behavior of microgravity two-phase flow on the ground. Pressure drops of two-phase flow in microgravity were also measured experimentally and correlated successfully based on its characteristics. Two space experiments on pool boiling phenomena in microgravity were performed aboard the Chinese recoverable satellites. Steady pool boiling of R113 on a thin wire with a temperature-controlled heating method was studied aboard RS-22, while quasi-steady pool boiling of FC-72 on a plate was studied aboard SJ-8. Ground-based experiments were also performed both in normal gravity and in short-term microgravity in the drop tower Beijing. Only slight enhancement of heat transfer was observed in the wire case, while enhancement in low heat flux and deterioration in high heat flux were observed in the plate case. Lateral motions of vapor bubbles were observed before their departure in microgravity. The relationship between bubble behavior and heat transfer on plate was analyzed. A semi-theoretical model was also proposed for predicting the bubble departure diameter during pool boiling on wires. The results obtained here are intended to become a powerful aid for further investigation in the present discipline and development of two-phase systems for space applications.     

Effect of impingement angle on the outcome of single water drop impact onto a plane water surface

Experiments of single water drop impact onto a plane water surface were carried out to investigate the effect of impingement angle on the total mass of secondary drops produced during the collision. When the impingement angle (the angle between the velocity vector of primary drop and the normal vector to water surface) was less than 50°, an increase in the impingement angle led to a remarkable increase in the total mass of secondary drops; this could be attributed to a significant increase in the secondary drop size. However, no secondary drop was observed within the experimental ranges tested when the impingement angle exceeded 70°.     

微重力气液两相流动与池沸腾传热

综述了近年来中国科学院微重力重点实验室(国家微重力实验室)完成的一系列微重力气液两相流动与池沸腾传热方面的地基实验、飞行实验和理论研究等方面获得的主要成果.在微重力气液两相流动方面,提出了半理论Weber数模型用于预测微重力条件下气液两相弹-环状流转换,并采用Monte Carlo方法,针对气泡初始尺寸对泡-弹状流转换的影响进行数值研究.通过俄罗斯"和平号"空间站与IL-76失重飞机实验,获得了微重力下的气液两相流型图,与此同时在地面利用小尺度毛细管模型模拟了微重力气液两相流动特征.实验测量了微重力气液两相流压降,并基于微重力流动特性建立了一个泡状流压降关联模型.在微重力池沸腾传热方面,利用我国返回式卫星完成了两次空间实验,其中,第22颗返回式卫星搭载铂丝表面R113池沸腾实验采用控制温度的稳态加热方式,而实践8号育种卫星搭载平面FC-72池沸腾实验则采用控制加热电压的准稳态加热方式.同时,还进行了地面常重力和落塔短时微重力条件下的对比实验研究.观察到丝状加热表面微重力时轻微的传热强化现象,而平板加热表面微重力核态池沸腾低热流时传热强化、高热流时传热恶化.微重力实验中观察到气泡脱落前存在横向运动现象,据此分析了气泡行为与传热之间关系,并提出了一个预测丝状加热表面气泡脱落直径的半理论模型.旨在对相关领域的进一步发展和空间两相流系统的应用提供数据及理论支持.     

Collision between immiscible drops with large surface tension difference: diesel oil and water

The collision outcomes of immiscible drops with large surface tension difference, namely, a water drop and a diesel oil drop, were observed experimentally. In a near head-on collision between immiscible drops with large surface tension difference, an “overlaying” action for the drop of the smaller surface tension, i.e., the diesel oil drop, to go around the surface of the drop of the larger surface tension, i.e., the water drop, occurs during the collision. This overlaying action reduces the reflex energy for head-on collisions, making reflex separation more difficult to occur. At the same time, due to the immiscibility, the liquid bridge during stretching separation becomes narrower, which makes stretching separation easier to happen. No coalescence could be observed for a collision of Weber number greater than 60. In addition, compound drops are produced frequently.     

超声波作用下气泡的非线性振动

Flynn方程在引入泡内气体的压缩性修正后能够更好地描述超声波作用下液体内气泡的非线性振动。我们以此为基础通过数值分析得到了不同初始半径的气泡在同一声场中的振动位移时间图像和相轨迹,发现气泡的运动行为对其初始状态有很强的依赖关系,在频率为26.5 kHz,幅度为1.35 atm的声波作用下,初始半径小于1 μm的气泡作小幅受迫振动,大于200 μm的气泡作小幅准本征振动,不具备空化气泡特征。声场中的小气泡对声波强度变化的反应更为激烈,当增加声强度时,可将一定范围内的小幅受迫振动气泡转化为空化气泡,并且,当驱动声波压力幅值增加时,初始半径越小的气泡的最大位移增加幅度越大。驱动声波频率同样影响气泡的振动。随着声波频率的升高,空化气泡的初始半径取值区间越来越小,空化振荡也越来越弱。本文还通过高速摄影系统对换能器作用于未除气的自来水所引起的变化进行了实验研究,结果表明,超声波作用下液体内的气泡场是一个混合场,场内气泡尺寸呈一定的分布状态,不仅有空化气泡,还有毫米级的大气泡。气泡的运动行为直接影响空化效果。超声空化场是一个复杂的物理场,场内除了有气泡的振动外,还有气泡间的相互吸引、碰撞和结合。      

Seed bubbles stabilize flow and heat transfer in parallel microchannels

Seed bubbles are generated on microheaters located at the microchannel upstream and driven by a pulse voltage signal, to improve flow and heat transfer performance in microchannels. The present study investigates how seed bubbles stabilize flow and heat transfer in micro-boiling systems. For the forced convection flow, when heat flux at the wall surface is continuously increased, flow instability is self-sustained in microchannels with large oscillation amplitudes and long periods. Introduction of seed bubbles in time sequence improves flow and heat transfer performance significantly. Low frequency (∼10 Hz) seed bubbles not only decrease oscillation amplitudes of pressure drops, fluid inlet and outlet temperatures and heating surface temperatures, but also shorten oscillation cycle periods. High frequency (∼100 Hz or high) seed bubbles completely suppress the flow instability and the heat transfer system displays stable parameters of pressure drops, fluid inlet and outlet temperatures and heating surface temperatures. Flow visualizations show that a quasi-stable boundary interface from spheric bubble to elongated bubble is maintained in a very narrow distance range at any time. The seed bubble technique almost does not increase the pressure drop across microsystems, which is thoroughly different from those reported in the literature. The higher the seed bubble frequency, the more decreased heating surface temperatures are. A saturation seed bubble frequency of 1000–2000 Hz can be reached, at which heat transfer enhancement attains the maximum degree, inferring a complete thermal equilibrium of vapor and liquid phases in microchannels. Benefits of the seed bubble technique are the stabilization of flow and heat transfer, decreasing heating surface temperatures and improving temperature uniformity of the heating surface.     

Effect of homogeneous condensation on the dynamics of a hot vapor bubble in a cold liquid jet

The problem of initiating cavitation bubbles in a cold liquid jet by injecting hot steam into high-pressure zone specially organized at the nozzle outlet is considered. Previously, in [1], a plane flowfield in which vapor bubbles were formed at the cusp of the cavity (high-pressure zone) and propagated together with the liquid along the axis of symmetry was considered. In certain cases, in the bubble expansion process the vapor temperature drops below the saturation temperature. In the present paper, vapor condensation in the bubble volume (homogeneous condensation) is also taken into account.Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 6, pp. 56–61, November–December, 1996.     

Propagation of Reaction Between Bubbles with a Gas Burning in a Fluidised Bed

A bubbling fluidised bed reactor has been used for investigating how combustion propagates between bubbles of premixed fuel + air, rising from the distributor towards the surface. Earlier work has shown that when the temperature of the sand gradually rises, the gases first burn in flames above the bed, regime A, then combustion moves under its surface, to occur in bubbles travelling up the bed, under regime B. Above a certain temperature, characteristic of the gas mixture composition, combustion descends towards the bottom of the bed. Ignition then occurs in small bubbles near the distributor, under the stable regime C. The kinetic model, used to calculate the delay for thermal ignition inside gas bubbles rising through the bed, gives correct predictions for regimes A and C but not for B. Under regime B, bubbles of the mixture begin to ignite under the bed’s surface while their residence time in the bed is remains shorter than the delay times for thermal ignition derived from the kinetic model. As the temperature rises, the ignition delay rapidly decreases, and regime C is reached, in accordance with the model. In this work attention was focused on regime B. A laboratory reactor of quartz glass was used, with a bed of quartz sand. Fast video recording was employed to capture ignition phenomena as the bed’s temperature was raised or lowered. Records of freeboard concentrations of O₂, CO and of total hydrocarbons, VOCs, were obtained, confirming the specific aerodynamic and chemical character of regime B. It has been shown that combustion spreads from the surface to bubbles near the bed’s surface and then to other bubbles close by. Such transfer of the reaction stabilizes combustion inside the bed, at temperatures appreciably lower than that for the thermal ignition of the mixture, given by the kinetic model. This is consistent with earlier findings, which have shown that the combustion of gaseous mixtures in bubbling fluidised beds is controlled by gas phase processes, as in flames.     

Similarity problem of inceptive cavitation

In the preceding article[1],the relation between thermodynamics condition andinceptive cavitation stage has been discussed.In this paper.we try to introduce thevolume function of inceptive cavitation bubbles.zo(r),instead of the energyequation used in the reference[1],for discussing cavitation similarity problem insimilar flow systems.Under this condition,theoretical result shows that theinception cavitation number K_i increases with a rise of geometry linear scale.Inother words,if two flow systems are kept with similar pattern and liquid,it isimpossible to satisfy the cavitation similarity,This conclusion accords withpractice.     

A novel numerical scheme for the investigation of surface tension effects on growth and collapse stages of cavitation bubbles

In the present study the effects of surface tension on the growth and collapse stages of cavitation bubbles are studied individually for both spherical and nonspherical bubbles. The Gilmore equation is used to simulate the spherical bubble dynamics by considering mass diffusion and heat transfer. For the collapse stage near a rigid boundary, the Navier–Stokes and energy equations are used to simulate the flow domain, and the VOF method is adopted to track the interface between the gas and the liquid phases. Simulations are divided into two cases. In the first case, the collapse stage alone is considered in both spherical and nonspherical situations with different conditions of bubble radius and surface tension. According to the results, surface tension has no significant effects on the flow pattern and collapse rate. In the second case, both the growth and collapse stages of bubbles with different initial radii and surface tensions are considered. In this case surface tension affects the growth stage considerably and, as a result, the jet velocity and collapse time decrease with increasing surface tension coefficient. This effect is more significant for bubbles with smaller radii.