Bubble Shape Research Articles

Electrical Impedance Tomography of Industrial Two-Phase Flow Based on Radial Basis Function Neural Network Optimized by the Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm.

In electrical impedance tomography (EIT) detection of industrial two-phase flows, the Gauss-Newton algorithm is often used for imaging. In complex cases with multiple bubbles, this method has poor imaging accuracy. To address this issue, a new algorithm called the artificial bee colony-optimized radial basis function neural network (ABC-RBFNN) is applied to industrial two-phase flow EIT for the first time. This algorithm aims to enhance the accuracy of image reconstruction in electrical impedance tomography (EIT) technology. The EIDORS-v3.10 software platform is utilized to generate electrode data for a 16-electrode EIT system with varying numbers of bubbles. This generated data is then employed as training data to effectively train the ABC-RBFNN model. The reconstructed electrical impedance image produced from this process is evaluated using the image correlation coefficient (ICC) and root mean square error (RMSE) criteria. Tests conducted on both noisy and noiseless test set data demonstrate that the ABC-RBFNN algorithm achieves a higher ICC value and a lower RMSE value compared to the Gauss-Newton algorithm and the radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) algorithm. These results validate that the ABC-RBFNN algorithm exhibits superior noise immunity. Tests conducted on bubble models of various sizes and quantities, as well as circular bubble models, demonstrate the ABC-RBFNN algorithm's capability to accurately determine the size and shape of bubbles. This outcome confirms the algorithm's generalization ability. Moreover, when experimental data collected from a 16-electrode EIT experimental device is employed as test data, the ABC-RBFNN algorithm consistently and accurately identifies the size and position of the target. This achievement establishes a solid foundation for the practical application of the algorithm.

Understanding of tip clearance flow structure in high speed mixed flow compressor

This paper addresses the necessity to make a physical interpretation of a highly complex three-dimensional tip clearance flow field study for high-speed mixed-flow compressor having stage exit static pressure to inlet total pressure ratio of 3.8 with 39,836 rpm rotor speed. The four different tip configurations namely the constant (λ = 0.016 and 0.019) and variable (λ = 0.011 (inlet)-0.019 (exit) and 0.019 (inlet)-0.022 (exit)) tip clearances were numerically analysed using available experimental data-set. The numerical investigation reveals that in contrast to the classic jet-wake pattern, two anomalous velocity profiles formed at the impeller exit which results in pressure losses in the vaneless diffuser. Near the impeller inlet, the tip leakage flow rolls up to discrete tip leakage vortex structure for each tip clearance configuration. This results in the formation of a region of momentum deficit, recirculation zone, which gets weakened as it moves downstream. The tip clearance configuration is observed to profoundly influence the extent and vorticity of the tip leakage vortex. In the splitter blade passage, the tip leakage flow and Coriolis flow interact with passage flow, resulting in the formation of two secondary passage vortices that move downstream along the pressure and suction surface of the splitter blade. The tip clearance configuration directly influences the impeller exit jet-wake pattern by modulating the secondary passage vortices trajectory and vorticity. Moreover, off-design analysis for tip clearances λ = 0.016 and λ = 0.019, depict distinctive tip leakage vortex characteristics. When operating near the stall conditions (80% of design mass flow rate), λ = 0.019 exhibits bubble shape tip leakage vortex breakdown occurring near the impeller inlet. This result in a substantial change in the tip leakage vortex nature; expansion of the recirculation zone and early weakening of the vorticity in the tip leakage vortex. It is observed that vortex breakdown plays a vital role in characteristics of the passage flow field structure and compressor performance near the stall conditions.

Effects of surfactants on bubble-induced turbulence

We use experiments to explore the effect of surfactants on bubble-induced turbulence (BIT) at different scales, considering how the bubbles affect the flow kinetic energy, anisotropy and extreme events. To this end, high-resolution particle shadow velocimetry measurements are carried out in a bubble column in which the flow is generated by bubble swarms rising in water for two different bubble diameters (3 and 4 mm) and moderate gas volume fractions (0.5 %–1.3 %). We use tap water as the base liquid and add 1-Pentanol as an additional surfactant with varying bulk concentration, leading to different bubble shapes and surface boundary conditions. The results reveal that with increasing surfactant concentration, the BIT generated increases in strength, even though bubbles of a given size rise more slowly with surfactants. We also find that the level of anisotropy in the flow is enhanced with increasing surfactant concentration for bubbles of the same size, and that for the same surfactant concentration, smaller bubbles generate stronger anisotropy in the flow. Concerning the intermittency quantified by the normalized probability density functions of the fluid velocity increments, our results indicate that extreme values in the velocity increments become more probable with decreasing surfactant concentration for cases with smaller bubbles and low gas void fraction, while the effect of the surfactant is much weaker for cases with larger bubble and higher void fractions.

Calculation of the effective thermal conductivity of porous polycrystalline U-10Mo alloy based on phase-field simulation

In the present work, the thermal conductivity of U-10Mo was calculated, considering the effects of different microstructures, including fission bubbles and recrystallization, through simulations using the phase-field method. The concept of effective thermal conductivity was used to describe thermal conductivity. Systematic calculation was conducted to determine the effect of fission bubble porosity on thermal conductivity. A shape factor was proposed to quantitatively represent the different shapes of bubbles, and the specific expression was also given. It was found that the shape factor had a significant impact on thermal conductivity. Additionally, the effects of grain refinement and coupled bubble evolution with different fission densities on thermal conductivity had been quantitatively studied. The calculated results were in good agreement with the experimental results. It was revealed that recrystallization had a significant impact on thermal conductivity, with higher irradiation density resulting in lower thermal conductivity due to the higher GB density and larger porosity. Based on the models presented in this paper, it is of great engineering significance to predict the thermal conductivity changes of U-10Mo fuel in service.

Numerical Simulation on Insoluble Surfactant Mass Transfer on Deformable Bubble Interface in a Couette Flow by Phase-Field Lattice Boltzmann Method-Finite-Difference Method Hybrid Approach.

Elaborate management on bubble shape and transportations depends on the balance between multiple physical behaviors for two-phase flow with Marangoni stress and the interface mass transfer. In this paper, a new model combining PFLBM (phase-field lattice Boltzmann method) and FDM ( finite-difference method) coupling with the ghost-cell method was built. The PFLBM-FDM was validated for the high accuracy, less computational cost, and low mass loss compared to other methods. Based on the PFLBM-FDM, a surfactant-laden bubble deformed and transported in a laminar Couette flow was investigated. The deformation ratio and transportation velocity were explored with different density ratios, surface tensions, shear velocities, and diffusion coefficients. The numerical results showed that the equilibrium state of the bubble deformation was decided only by the dimensionless numbers when the Sh number was higher than 100. Moreover, the transportation velocity of the bubble can be controlled by the balance between the Marangoni stress and shear velocity. When the Sh is lower than 100, the Marangoni stress from the surfactant is not a long-range force, which only works at the early flow. Otherwise, the Marangoni stress will be a long-range force that provides a persistent force to accelerate the bubble by ∼10%. Increasing ReH will further intensify the effect. Based on all the data, a correlation of the bubble deformation including with the densities of two fluids was obtained and the error range is less 5%.

Evolution behavior of cavitation bubble in pure Sn liquid medium with narrow gap under low-amplitude ultrasound

In this study, a numerical model of cavitation bubble in the narrow-gap pure Sn liquid medium was established by two-dimensional compressible multiphase flow simulation. The effects of the pressure amplitude and the gap size on the shape, size and position of the cavitation bubble were investigated. The calculation results showed that the cavitation bubble in the narrow-gap soldering seam could exist stably after experiencing two stages of the nonlinear oscillation and the near-wall oscillation with the low-amplitude ultrasound and moved directionally on the metal substrate surface. When the pressure amplitude increased or the gap size decreased, the directional motion rate of the cavitation bubble increased and the shape of the bubble was elliptical due to the confinement effect of the substrate wall. The ultrasonic degassing mechanism of the narrow-gap soldering seam under the action of exponential decay ultrasonic vibration was analyzed by comparing the fluid pressure and velocity field variations. The flow field in the center of the soldering seam vibrated stronger than that of the peripheral regions, which could promote the outward motion of the cavitation bubble. Within the calculation time of 0.002 s, the maximum horizontal motion distance of bubble in the narrow-gap soldering seam was 1.13 mm.

Single-Bubble Rising in Shear-Thinning and Elastoviscoplastic Fluids Using a Geometric Volume of Fluid Algorithm.

The motion of air bubbles within a liquid plays a crucial role in various aspects including heat transfer and material quality. In the context of non-Newtonian fluids, such as elastoviscoplastic fluids, the presence of air bubbles significantly influences the viscosity of the liquid. This study presents the development of an interface-capturing method for multiphase viscoelastic fluid flow simulations. The proposed algorithm utilizes a geometric volume of fluid (isoAdvector) approach and incorporates a reconstructed distance function (RDF) to determine interface curvature instead of relying on volume fraction gradients. Additionally, a piecewise linear interface construction (PLIC) scheme is employed in conjunction with the RDF-based interface reconstruction for improved accuracy and robustness. The validation of the multiphase viscoelastic PLIC-RDF isoAdvector (MVP-RIA) algorithm involved simulations of the buoyancy-driven rise of a bubble in fluids with varying degrees of rheological complexity. First, the newly developed algorithm was applied to investigate the buoyancy-driven rise of a bubble in a Newtonian fluid on an unbounded domain. The results show excellent agreement with experimental and theoretical findings, capturing the bubble shape and velocity accurately. Next, the algorithm was extended to simulate the buoyancy-driven rise of a bubble in a viscoelastic shear-thinning fluid described by the Giesekus constitutive model. As the influence of normal stress surpasses surface tension, the bubble shape undergoes a transition to a prolate or teardrop shape, often exhibiting a cusp at the bubble tail. This is in contrast to the spherical, ellipsoidal, or spherical-cap shapes observed in the first case study with a bubble in a Newtonian fluid. Lastly, the algorithm was employed to study the buoyancy-driven rise of a bubble in an unbounded elastoviscoplastic medium, modeled using the Saramito-Herschel-Bulkley constitutive equation. It was observed that in very small air bubbles within the elastoviscoplastic fluid, the dominance of elasticity and capillary forces restricts the degree of bubble deformation. As the bubble volume increases, lateral stretching becomes prominent, resulting in the emergence of two tails. Ultimately, a highly elongated bubble shape with sharper tails is observed. The results show that by applying the newly developed MVP-RIA algorithm, with a tangible coarser grid compared to the algebraic VOF method, an accurate solution is achieved. This will open doors to plenty of applications such as bubble columns in reactors, oil and gas mixtures, 3D printing, polymer processing, etc.

Bubble-assisted matte transportation into slag phase: A numerical investigation

Copper loss into the slag phase during the smelting process can be minimized by controlling gas bubble size and hydrodynamics. Here, bubble rising characteristics from copper matte to slag phase were investigated using the volume-of-fluid modelling approach, in which the continuous surface force model was adopted to define the surface tension parameters. The simulated results for bubble terminal velocities in bulk water and the literature data showed relative errors up to 4.51 %. The obtained qualitative and quantitative data from simulation at the liquid–liquid interface agreed well with the literature experimental results. The simulation setup was applied to investigate three different sizes of bubble rising dynamics from matte to slag phase with the bubble Reynolds number (Re) up to 1734 and the Eotvos number (Eo) up to 3.2. For low Re and Eo, the bubble rising velocity decreased before the matte film rupture and the bubble required a long time to complete that film drainage due to the balance of interfacial tension force and bubble buoyancy. No matte residue associated with the bubble rise in the slag phase was obtained because of restoring initial, non-deformed shape of bubbles. For the higher Re and Eo, quicker matte film drainage was obtained around the upper bubble surface while the entrained matte contribution to the slag phase was strongly dependent on the bubble-shape deformation, which was discussed with the well-known Grace diagram. The decreasing viscosity and increasing surface tension of the slag phase significantly affected the matte film height more than the film rupture time. The film height and rupture time increased and decreased with increasing Eo, respectively. The outcomes of our studies are useful for the design and operation of smetling furnaces in pyrometallurgical purification of metal concentrates.

Identification and prediction of injection bubble shape in MLPS colloidal suspension

Reliable identification and prediction of a bubble shape are important to the research of bubble dynamics. The transparent MLPS colloidal suspensions, representing the viscoelastic behavior, were employed in this paper and the bubble morphology was investigated by the gas injection method. Several influencing factors, such as the concentration, the sample height, the pinhole diameter, and the gas flow rate, were analyzed. The observed data show that the bubble was initially controlled by elasticity and then by viscoelasticity. The corresponding bubble shapes revealed ‘inverted carrot’ and ‘inverted teardrop’ respectively. The bubble shape parameters including the aspect ratio, the tail proportion, the equivalent diameter ratio, and the top curvature ratio were considered in the proposed identification method. Furthermore, a prediction equation was proposed to identify a detached bubble shape based on several influence parameters including the concentration, the sample height, the pinhole diameter, and the gas flow rate. The calculated results were in good agreement with the test results. Therefore, combined with the bubble shape criterion, a bubble shape at the detachment could be accurately identified with the provision of some pre-known parameters such as the material properties and the test conditions, without the information in the bubble growth process such as the growth rate, the observation time, etc.

Specific-heat ratio effects on the interaction between shock wave and heavy-cylindrical bubble: Based on discrete Boltzmann method

Specific-heat ratio effects on the interaction between a planar shock wave and a two-dimensional heavy-cylindrical bubble are studied by the discrete Boltzmann method. Snapshots of schlieren images and evolutions of characteristic scales, being consistent with experiments, are obtained. The specific-heat ratio effects on some relevant dynamic behaviors such as the bubble shape, deformation process, average motion, vortex motion, mixing degree of the fluid system are carefully studied, as well as the related Thermodynamic Non-Equilibriums (TNE) behaviors including the TNE strength, entropy production rate of the system. Specifically, it is found that the influence of specific-heat ratio on the entropy production contributed by non-organized energy flux (NOEF) is more significant than that caused by non-organized momentum flux (NOMF). Effects of specific-heat ratio on entropy production caused by NOMF and NOEF are contrary. The effects of specific-heat ratio on various TNE quantities show interesting differences. These differences consistently show the complexity of TNE flows which is still far from clear understanding.

Prediction of bubble shape deformation in aqueous solutions of short-chain alcohols

The behaviour of bubbles in aqueous solutions of short-chain alcohols depends significantly on the alcohol concentration. At low concentrations, alcohols act as surfactants and slow the rising velocity of the bubble, whereas at higher concentrations, primarily due to the internal arrangement at the molecular level, the desorption of molecules from the bubble surface is facilitated and the mobility of the bubble surface is increased. These factors significantly affect both bubble velocity and deformation. On the basis of experimental data (aqueous solutions of ethanol and propanol in the entire concentration range), two relations were proposed for the estimation of bubble deformation depending on the dimensionless Weber number. The model was successfully verified on an independent data set of the velocity and deformation of bubbles that rise in a stationary liquid.

Numerical investigation of the cavitation bubble near the solid wall with a gas-entrapping hole based on a fully compressible three-phase model

The solid surface with several cavities containing gas strongly influences the bubble’s dynamical behaviors. To reveal the underlying physical mechanism of the cavitation bubble near a rigid boundary with a gas-entrapping hole, a fully compressible three-phase model, accounting for the three-phase volume transport equation, was implemented in OpenFOAM. The predicted bubble shape was validated with the corresponding experimental photos, and good agreement was achieved. The bubble’s primary physical features (e.g., the expanding shock wave, upward and downward liquid jet, and high-pressure region) are well reproduced, which helps understand the underlying mechanisms. The numerical results show that the solid wall with a gas-entrapping hole could affect the morphology of both the bubble and liquid jet, as well as shortens the bubble's first oscillation period in comparison to an intact rigid wall. The relationship among the prolongation factor, the standoff distance, and the relative size ratio is analyzed. It is found the prolongation factor increases as the relative size ratio decrease. As the standoff distance decreases, the gas entrapping hole plays a significant role in the oscillation period of the bubble. The current model can be further extended to reveal the microscopic mechanism of aeration avoiding cavitation damage and investigate the interaction between air bubbles and cavitation bubbles, which is of great interest to practical applications.

Effects of the transversely nonuniform plasma density in a blowout regime of a plasma wakefield accelerator.

We present an analytical study on the effects of the transverse plasma gradient in the blowout regime of a plasma wakefield accelerator. The analysis departs from a simple ballistic model of plasma electrons and allows us to derive a complete analytic solution for the pseudopotential and, consequently, for the wakefield. We demonstrate that the transverse plasma gradient modifies the bubble shape and affects the wakefield; namely, the dipole plasma gradient results in a dipole component of the wakefield. Analysis suggests that, despite the asymmetry, the instability due to the fixed transverse plasma gradient is unlikely, as the total wakefield has a single stable point inside the bubble. The only effect that occurs is the shift of the electromagnetic center. We point out that random fluctuation of the transverse plasma gradient could become an issue.

Nonlinear Ultrasonic Imaging for Porosity Evaluation.

The influence of porosity on the mechanical behaviour of composite laminates represents a complex problem that involves many variables. Therefore, the evaluation of the type and volume content of porosity in a composite specimen is important for quality control and for predicting material behaviour during service. A suitable way to evaluate the porosity content in composites is by using nonlinear ultrasonics because of their sensitivity to small cracks. The main objective of this research work is to present an imaging method for the porosity field in composites. Two nonlinear ultrasound techniques are proposed using backscattered signals acquired by a phased array system. The first method was based on the amplitude of the half-harmonic frequency components generated by microbubble reflections, while the second one involved the frequency derivative of the attenuation coefficient, which is proportional to the porosity content in the specimen. Two composite samples with induced porosity were considered in the experimental tests, and the results showed the high accuracy of both methods with respect to a classic C-scan baseline. The attenuation coefficient results showed high accuracy in defining bubble shapes in comparison with the half-harmonic technique when surface effects were neglected.

Numerical study of bubble dynamics near a solid wall with a gas-entrapping hole

Bubble dynamics with highly nonlinear interactions between an oscillating bubble and gas-liquid interface in the vicinity of a rigid wall with a gas-entrapping hole were numerically investigated in this study. The evolution of a cavitation bubble and its interactions with the gas-liquid interface were simulated using a fully compressible mixture model for three-phase flow. The solver was developed based on a dual-time preconditioning technique coupled with an interface capturing method on a general curvilinear grid. To assess the capability of the solver, validation was done with experimental data on bubble growth and collapse near a flat rigid wall (γ=2.0), and near a rigid wall with a gas-entrapping hole (γ=1.2). Good agreements in comparisons of the bubble shape and equivalent bubble radius were achieved. Numerical simulations of bubble growth and collapse in proximity to a rigid wall with a hole at different standoff distances were then conducted. The examined results showed that the gas entrapped inside the hole has considerable effects on the formation and redirection of the liquid jet, as well as on the dynamics of the cavitation bubble. Unlike the bubble collapse near a flat solid wall, the liquid jet was directed far away from the solid wall with a gas-entrapping hole, and the jet velocity was significantly smaller than that of the flat solid wall. The simulated results also revealed a potential for improving the design and production of body surfaces, which are often damaged by the impact of the liquid jet caused by bubble collapse.

A novel correlation of bubble aspect ratio through analysis of gas/shear-thinning liquid two-phase flow in a bubble column

Gas/shear-thinning liquid two-phase flow is often involved in the petroleum, chemical, and food industries, with the bubble shape playing a vital role in the theoretical analysis and numerical simulation of the flow. This study investigates the bubble shape variation in a shear-thinning liquid (carboxymethyl cellulose sodium solution) under the bubble swarm condition using high-speed imaging and a bubble recognition algorithm. The results show that trailing bubbles accelerate as they rise along the flow path of leading bubbles. During acceleration, the bubbles are subjected to lateral forces that cause them to deform from an oblate spheroid to a prolate spheroid. The effect of the shear-thinning property is enhanced owing to the increased superficial gas velocity and solution concentration, leading to an increase in the number of prolate spherical bubbles. Considering the significant difference in energy transfer in the flow fields around oblate and prolate particles, new aspect ratio correlations were developed for the two shapes based on the correlations of Re·Eo derived from the Newtonian fluid case. Compared to the previous correlation developed by assuming that the two shapes have the same aspect ratio, the proposed method significantly improves the prediction accuracy of the bubble aspect ratio for a shear-thinning fluid case.

Migration velocities of intergranular He gas bubbles under thermal gradients in Fe by phase-field modeling

We compute the migration velocity of intergranular He bubbles in Fe under thermal gradients using phase-field (PF) modeling. Grain boundaries (GBs) with energies in the range of 0.88−1.6J/m2 are considered. To develop a suitable PF model, the influences of the PF parameterization strategy, thermal conductivity in grain boundaries, and GB diffusion coefficients on intergranular He bubble geometry are addressed. Good agreement between our simulations and a theoretical model are found for the contact angle at the junction of the bubble and GB. Under the application of a thermal gradient, we find that intergranular He bubbles migrate slower than He bubbles in an Fe matrix. We show that this is a result of the smaller temperature gradient at the bubble/GB junction when the bubble is at the GB, than when the bubble is in the matrix. A linear relationship between bubble migration velocity and temperature gradient is observed for intergranular He bubbles for all GB energies studied in this work, consistent with predictions from a theoretical model. Intergranular bubble migration velocity is also found to depend linearly on the inverse of bubble size. However, we find the shape of the bubble influences intergranular bubble migration velocity. An analytical model for bubble migration velocity that considers the shape of an intergranular bubble is proposed and shown to capture the computed PF data for He bubbles.

Investigation of Microstructure and Density of Atmospheric Ice Formed by High-Wind-Speed In-Cloud Icing

In-cloud icing occurred on cables, wind turbines, and aircraft wings and may cause power transmission paralysis, energy dissipation, and unsafe flight. The study of atmospheric ice is crucial to facilitate the development of in-cloud icing prediction/detection and anti-/de-icing systems. Herein, atmospheric ice formed by high-wind-speed, in-cloud icing was obtained and reserved during icing tests in the 3 m × 2 m icing wind tunnel located at CARDC. Microstructures of atmospheric ice formed by high-wind-speed, in-cloud icing were observed and analysed using the microscopic observation method. A better description was established to explore the influence of the icing environment on ice microstructures, such as the size and shape of air bubbles and the boundaries of ice grains. Furthermore, an accurate density measurement was developed to allow a better practical density expression to consider the characteristics of the impacted surface and the effect of the flow field.

Observation of skyrmion bubbles in multilayer [Pt/Co/Cu]n using spin-polarized STM

Magnetic multilayers are a promising platform for storage and logic devices based on skyrmion spin textures, due to the large materials phase space for tuning properties. Epitaxial superlattice structures of [Pt/Co/Cu]n thin films were grown by molecular beam epitaxy at room temperature. Spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy (SP-STM) of these samples was used to probe the connection between surface structure and skyrmion morphology with nanoscale spatial resolution. Irregular-shaped skyrmion bubbles were observed, with effective diameters from 20 to 200 nm that are much larger than the nanoscale grain structure of the surface topography. Nucleation, annihilation, and motion of skyrmion bubbles could be driven using the stray field of the ferromagnetic tip in repeated imaging, and spin-polarized current/voltage pulses. Our detailed comparison of STM topography and differential conductance images shows that there are no surface defects or inhomogeneities at length scales that could account for the range in skyrmion bubble size or shape observed in the measurements.

Numerical study of an individual bubble rise in a shear-thinning viscoelastic liquid based on a combination of the Carreau and FENE-CR models

The rise behavior of a single bubble in shear-thinning viscoelastic liquids was investigated using a volume of fluid method based on a combination of the Carreau and FENE-CR models. The effects of Weissenberg number (Wi), polymer stretching parameter (L), Eötvös number (Eo) and rheological index (n) on bubble shape and typical characteristics of flow fields were investigated in detail. The results show that bubble tail becomes pointed under the influence of elastic stress, and the bubble becomes longer along the longitudinal direction with a decrease in Wi. When the magnitude of n is relatively large, the bubble appears as an ellipsoidal shape with a cusp; however, when the magnitude of n is relatively small, bubble shape is closer to a disc, and the tip of bubble tail disappears. Wi affects the magnitude of elastic tensile stress, and affects the action rang of the large tensile stress. With an increase in Wi, the action rang of elastic tensile stress develops from both sides of the bubble towards regions below bubble tail. The appearance of negative wake is not directly related to bubble shape, but to the relaxation of elastic stres.