Phase Distribution of Bubbly Flows under Terrestrial and Microgravity Conditions
Asghar Esmaeeli1
FDMP-Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing, Vol.1, No.1, pp. 63-80, 2005, DOI:10.3970/fdmp.2005.001.063
Abstract We use direct numerical simulations to study phase distribution of bubbles under terrestrial and microgravity conditions. The full Navier-Stokes and energy equations, for the flows inside and outside the bubbles, are solved using a front tracking/finite difference technique. Both nearly spherical and deformable bubbles are considered. For buoyancy-driven flows, spherical bubbles at Re = O(10) and deformable ones at Re = O(100) exhibit a uniform spatial distribution at quasi steady-state conditions, while nearly spherical bubbles at Re = O(100) form horizontal rafts. Bubbles, driven by thermocapillary effects in microgravity, also form horizontal rafts, but due to an More >