On the application of LDA to bubbly flow in the wobbling regime

 Considerations for applying LDA to bubbly flows with bubbles about 3 to 4 mm in diameter were investigated by means of detailed experiments in the model geometry of a train of bubbles. Both forward scatter and backscatter LDA were studied. The validity of phase discrimination via burst amplitude was tested and special attention was paid to the impact of bubble interface response to the laser beams. Forward and backscatter measurements can be compared well. In both configurations, predominantly the liquid phase is “seen” by LDA. A bubble itself only leads to a velocity realization in special conditions. In those cases the Doppler shift is determined by the motion of the bubble interface which consists of the motion of the center of gravity of the bubble as well as shape oscillations. In backscatter bubbles only give velocity realizations when their “cheeks” pass through the measuring volume virtually perpendicularly. It is shown that the bubble-caused velocity realization frequency is very low for bubbles of the size used. Phase discrimination on burst amplitude does not hold. In ambient cases such as bubble columns one can assume that only the liquid phase is being studied. Received: 4 May 1998/Accepted: 30 September 1998