Modeling Bubble Growth and Departure from a Cavity

Abstract

In this paper, the characteristics of bubble growth and departure of a bubble from a cavity is simulated using a transient 2D/axisymmetric model. To predict the shape of the bubble deformation, the Navier-Stokes equations in addition to an advection equation for liquid volume fraction are solved. A modified Volume-of-Fluid (VOF) technique based on Youngs’ algorithm is used to investigate the effect of different parameters on the bubble growth characteristics. To validate the model, the results of simulations for the bubble shape during its growth from a cavity are compared with those of the experiments available in the literature. The effect of different parameters such as surface tension, viscosity, and injected gas flow rate on the bubble departure diameter is investigated.