An Exploration of the Effects of Dissolved Ionic Solids on Bubble Merging in Water and Its Impact on the Leidenfrost Transition

Abstract

Theoretical models and MD simulation studies suggest that dissolved salts tend to alter the surface tension at liquid vapor interfaces and affect the stability of the free liquid film between adjacent bubbles. Recent modeling of the Leidenfrost phenomenon also indicates that bubble merging is a key mechanism affecting the Leidenfrost transition conditions. This investigation summarizes the results of an investigation of the effects of dissolved salts on liquid film stability and bubble merging in the aqueous solution. The interaction of pairs of bubbles injected into solution with different dissolved salt concentrations was studied experimentally to determine the probability of merging from statistics for ensembles of bubble pairs. The results of these experiments indicate that very low dissolved salt concentrations can strongly reduce the tendency of adjacent bubbles to merge, implying that the presence of the dissolved salt in such cases strongly enhances the stability of the free liquid film between adjacent bubbles. The trends are compared to predictions of free liquid film stability by wave instability theory and MD simulations. These trends are also compared to experimental data indicating the effects of dissolved salt on the Leidenfrost transition. These comparisons indicate that the suppression of merging due to the effects of some dissolved salts can significantly alter the Leidenfrost transition conditions. The implications of this in quenching of cast aluminum or steel parts using water of variable hardness are also discussed.