Published 6 issues per year
ISSN Print: 2152-5102
ISSN Online: 2152-5110
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THE MEASUREMENTS OF BUBBLE PLUME STRUCTURE PARAMETER
ABSTRACT
Surface flows generated by bubble plumes play an important role in many engineering applications. Hence, the flowfield's structure using air bubbles is the interest of many researchers. The purpose of this paper is to elucidate the relationship between the parameters of bubbly flow/bubble plume to describe the characteristics of bubble-generating surface flow. The flow depends on the gas flow rate Qg, the bubble size (the mean bubble diameter D), the void friction α, the bubble velocity v, the internal two-phase flow structure of the bubble plume, and the distance between the bubble generator and the free surface (water height in the experimental tank H). An experimental apparatus was designed in order to investigate bubble motion, to calculate the bubble parameters, and to find the links and interdependencies between them. From the data obtained by applying image processing of visualized images of bubble flow structure for the different sections of bubble regions, it is confirmed that the flow structure and bubble parameters are sensitively modulated by the gas flow rate, bubble velocity, bubble size, and the water height in the tank. It was found that when the gas volume flow rate increases the mean (average) bubble diameter, the bubble velocity along the bubble plume and the void friction increase. Furthermore, the bubble velocity increases as the water height in the experimental tank increases. Investigating bubbly flow characteristics and finding the relationship between the mentioned parameters support many applications for the future of industry and the environment. This will help designing the real system of surface flow technique generated by the bubble plume to enable it to control and collect surface-floating substances in naval systems, lakes, seas, rivers, and oceans, especially oil layers formed during large oil spill accidents. The surface flows generated by bubble plumes are considered key phenomena in various kinds of reactors, engineering processes, and industrial processes handling a free surface.
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Abdulmouti Hassan, Improving the Performance of Surface Flow Generated by Bubble Plumes, Fluids, 6, 8, 2021. Crossref