Study of Bubble Dynamics in Aerated Liquid Storage Tanks Opened to Atmosphere

Abstract

AbstractIn the present paper, volume of fluid (VOF) method of multiphase solver interFoam is used for analyzing various bubble characteristics. PIMPlE algorithm which is a combination of SIMPLE (semi-implicit method for pressure linked equations) and PISO (pressure implicit with splitting of operator) is used for pressure velocity coupling. The governing equations are discretized by using finite volume method (FVM). The numerical analyses were done with multiphase solver interFoam of OpenFOAM-3.0.1. Numerical analyses were carried out in a 2D rectangular domain of height 100 mm and width 50 mm. By changing the number of inlets, variations in bubble behaviors were numerically studied. The current work mainly concentrates on the effect of density and viscosity of bulk liquid on bubble diameter and detachment time. The study also incorporates the information of bubble formation, bubbling frequency and bubble agglomeration process by varying bulk liquid density and viscosity. The work concludes that density and viscosity of bulk liquid has a substantial role in controlling the various bubble characteristics and found out that VOF method is the most appropriate front tracking method for studying various bubble behaviors.KeywordsBubbling frequencyBubble agglomerationinterFoamOpenFOAMPIMPLEVOFCFD