3D bubble reconstruction using multiple cameras and space carving method

Abstract

An accurate measurement of bubble shape and size has a significant value in understanding the behavior of bubbles that exist in many engineering applications. Past studies usually use one or two cameras to estimate bubble volume, surface area, among other parameters. The 3D bubble shape and rotation angle are generally not available in these studies. To overcome this challenge and obtain more detailed information of individual bubbles, a 3D imaging system consisting of four high-speed cameras is developed in this paper, and the space carving method is used to reconstruct the 3D bubble shape based on the recorded high-speed images from different view angles. The proposed method can reconstruct the bubble surface with minimal assumptions. A benchmarking test is performed in a 3 cm × 1 cm rectangular channel with stagnant water. The results show that the newly proposed method can measure the bubble volume with an error of less than 2% compared with the syringe reading. The conventional two-camera system has an error around 10%. The one-camera system has an error greater than 25%. The visualization of a 3D bubble rising demonstrates the wall influence on bubble rotation angle and aspect ratio. This also explains the large error that exists in the single camera measurement.