Vapor Bubble Formation, Forces, and Induced Vibration: A Review

Abstract

Bubble-induced vibration has become vital during recent investigation and advancement in the area of multiphase boiling. The induced vibration phenomenon can be understood with the help of proper and detailed understanding of vapor bubble formation, growth, collapse, and interaction with the surface. The growth mechanism for the formation of bubbles under nucleate boiling conditions is theoretically investigated. This paper also discusses the dynamics of vapor bubbles during flow in subcooled boiling conditions. In the part of the vapor bubble formation, the characteristics of a bubble emerged from the heated surface at a single nucleation site along with the flow boiling phenomena have been considered for analysis. The bubble is considered to be of spherical shape and detached from a heated surface due to the formation of a microlayer of liquid. The fluid is supposed to be static far away from a vapor bubble. Using well-known models of bubble formation and detachment, equations considering various forces acting over a single bubble have been derived. These equations monitor bubble characteristics in a definite manner according to the derived differential equation for energy conservation developed for the two-phase flow system. To illustrate this phenomenon, two bubble formation mechanisms, inertia-controlled and heat transfer-controlled growth have been considered. The present investigation discusses the governing equations for the bubble growth rate, bubble size and frequency, forces, and the well-known Rayleigh's equation. Also, the vibration characteristic has been reviewed, and the two phenomena, i.e., subcooled boiling induced vibration (SBIV) and flow-induced vibration (FIV) have been discussed in brief. The present review paper aims to reveal the latest evaluation done in the area of bubble-induced vibration and to ascertain the contributions made until now as well as the solution to the upcoming issues.