3D simulation of single bubble dynamics in a microchannel with a complex cross-sectional shape

Abstract

The relevance of a study of bubbly liquid dynamics in porous media is due to a wide range of their use in technological and industrial processes. This work is dedicated to the numerical study of the dynamics of single incompressible bubbles in a viscous fluid flow in a microchannel with a cross-section in the shape of a deltoid. This geometry is due to the similarity with the domain between closely packed cylindrical fibers, forming a porous medium, for example, in the manufacturing of composite materials. In the present study for solving the considered problems, the boundary element method (BEM) was chosen as a basis of the numerical approach, since all calculations were associated only with boundaries. BEM is effective in studying 3D problems in the domains with complex geometry and modelling objects with arbitrary deformation. The influence of the initial radius of the bubble, its position relative to the channel centerline on the bubble deformation, relative velocity of the mass center of the bubble to the average flow velocity in the channel is considered.