The buoyancy-driven motion of a train of viscous drops within a cylindrical tube

Abstract

The buoyancy-driven motion of a train of viscous drops settling or rising along the axis of a vertical cylindrical tube is investigated. Under the assumption of creeping flow, the evolution of the drops is computed numerically using a boundary integral method that employs the axisymmetric periodic Green's function for flow in a cylindrical tube. Given the drop volume and assuming that the viscosity of the drops is equal to that of the suspending fluid, the motion is studied as a function of the radius of the tube, the separation between the drops, and the Bond number. Two classes of drops are considered: compact drops whose effective radius is smaller than the radius of the tube, and elongated drops whose effective radius is larger than the radius of the tube. It is found that compact drops may have a variety of steady shapes including prolate and oblate, dimpled tops, and shapes containing pockets of entrained ambient fluid. When the surface tension is sufficiently small, compact drops become unstable, evolving to prolate rings with elongated tails. The terminal velocity of compact drops is discussed and compared with that predicted by previous asymptotic analyses for spherical drops. Steady elongated drops assume the shape of long axisymmetric fingers consisting of a nearly cylindrical main body and two curved ends. Relationships between the terminal velocity of elongated drops, the gap between the drops and the wall of the tube, and the Bond number are established. The results are discussed with reference to previous analyses and laboratory measurements for inviscid bubbles.