On the surface tension role in bubble growth and detachment in a micro-tube

Abstract

The role of surface tension in the mechanism of bubble growth and detachment for a co-flowing air-water two-phase flow in a micro-tube is addressed. A numerical investigation for a horizontal axisymmetric flow with the assumption of zero gravity and an upward flow accounting for gravity contribution is carried out. The continuous liquid phase is flowing in a tube of 500 μm inner diameter and the gas phase is axially injected through a nozzle of 110 μm inner diameter and 210 μm outer diameter. A single-fluid model is used to determine the flow field, solving the continuity and momentum equations associated with the volume of fluid method for interface tracking. An open source software, OpenFOAM, is utilized for solving numerically this problem. The prediction results show that the surface tension plays a double role. First, it keeps the bubble attached to the injection nozzle during bubble growth and neck formation. Then, it destabilizes the interface by pinching off the neck in the immediate vicinity of the nozzle at about a distance of 0.5 the nozzle diameter rather than right at the nozzle exit. In-depth analysis of the mechanism of bubble formation induced by the effect of surface tension is carried out. It is highlighted that this latter acts as an attachment force at the injection nozzle during the bubble growth and it acts over the entire interface of the bubble yielding the formation of a neck. Later, the capillary effects reduce the diameter of the neck until it breaks and yields the detachment of the bubble. Further investigation at the nozzle wall allows depicting the motion of the contact line during the process of bubble growth and its significant effect on the bubble formation.