Author(s)

J.D. Bugg

Abstract

Distortion of large, isolated two and three dimensional bubbles J.D. Bugg Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada ABSTRACT Small bubbles released in quiescent liquids undergo little distortion since the stabilising surface tension force dominates. For large bubbles, however, dis- tortion is very great and the bubble transforms from an initially cylindrical or spherical shape to a radically different steadily rising shape. The nu- merical investigation presented here uses an explicit finite difference model employing a volume fraction interface specification. Cylindrical and spheri- cal bubbles ranging in diameter from 20 to 80 mm are released from rest in a quiescent fluid and their distortion and rise velocity are studied. Several critical features observed experimentally are reproduced in the simulations. The initial acceleration from rest is properly predicted. The transformations of initia

Keywords