2021/09/19 by Habib Abubakar, Omar K. Matar, Abubakar, Habib +1
Engineering · Environmental Science · #FOS: Physical sciences #Fluid Dynamics (physics.flu-dyn) #Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer #Fluid Dynamics and Mixing #Minerals Flotation and Separation Techniques
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2109.09091
openalex publication_date 2021/09/19 · openalex created_date 2021/09/27 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Taylor bubbles are a feature of the slug flow regime in gas-liquid flows in vertical pipes. Their dynamics exhibits a number of transitions such as symmetry-breaking in the bubble shape and wake when rising in downward-flowing and stagnant liquids, respectively, as well as breakup in sufficiently turbulent environments. Motivated by the need to examine the stability of a Taylor bubble in liquids, a systematic numerical study of a steadily-moving Taylor bubble in stagnant and flowing liquids is carried out, characterised by a dimensionless inverse viscosity (Nf), and Eötvös (Eo), and Froude (Fr) numbers based on the centreline liquid velocity, using a Galerkin finite-element method. A boundary-fitted domain is used to examine the dependence of the steady bubble shape on a wide range of Nf and Eo. Our analysis of the bubble nose and bottom curvatures shows that the intervals Eo = [ 20,30 ) and Nf=[60,80 ) are the limits below which surface tension and viscosity, respectively, have a strong influence on the bubble shape. In the interval Eo = (60,100 ], all bubble features studied are weakly-dependent on surface tension. This is Part I of a two-part publication in which its companion paper (Abubakar & Matar, 2021) reports the results of a linear stability analysis of the steady-states discussed herein.