Search

This paper reports an experimental study of the mixing of a passive scalar in a bubble column at high Reynolds number and average gas volume fractions ranging from 2.0 % to 7.5 % . Starting from a homogeneous bubble column, the bubbly flow is progressively destabilized by imposing a gradient of gas volume fraction at the bottom of the tank. In that way, a single recirculation is produced, which allows to investigate the impact of a large-scale buoyancy-driven flow on the mixing of a passive scalar. It is shown that, as long as the shear-induced turbulence generated by the recirculation is negligible, mixing results from two main mixing mechanisms: the transport by the mean liquid velocity and the mixing induced by the bubbles. While the transport by the liquid recirculation can be accounted for by an advection term, the mixing induced by the bubbles is a diffusive process, the effective diffusivity of which has been measured in a homogeneous bubble column by Alméras et al. (2015). However, once the shear-induced turbulence produced by the shear develops, its role upon the mixing has to be taken into account too. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spectral analysis of dispersed two-phase flows is highly desirable to reveal the interplay of the various flow scales, much larger or much smaller than the size of the dispersed bodies. This is a challenging task as the matching conditions at the body interfaces generate singularities in the fields describing the two-phase mixture. The nature of these singularities and their consequences on the spectra are theoretically analyzed for bubble or droplet flows. Results of direct numerical simulations are reported and spatial spectra of the mixture velocity, the flow forces and their power are examined. The regular part of the spectral densities of energy production, dissipation and transfers between scales are separated from their singular part. The resulting spectral energy balance, free of the footprint of the singularities, is found in agreement with coarse-grained simulations where the interfaces are filtered out before solving the Navier–Stokes equations. These results pave the way for the spectral analysis of more complex turbulent dispersed flows. [Display omitted] • Spectral analysis of dispersed two-phase flows is complicated by discontinuities at interfaces. • The theoretical footprints of various field singularities at sharp interfaces are determined. • Energy spectrum and spectral energy budget calculated from DNS of a swarm of rising bubbles. • A method for separating the regular and singular parts of the spectra is proposed. • The regular part of DNS spectra is in good agreement with that of Coarse-Grained Simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In this work we test a methodology for PIV measurements when a large field of view is required in planar confined geometries. Using a depth of field larger than the channel width, we intend to measure the in-plane variations of the velocity of the fluid averaged through the width of the channel, and we examine in which operating conditions this becomes possible. Measurements of the flow through a narrow channel by PIV are challenging because of the strong velocity gradients that develop between the walls. In particular, all techniques that use small particles as tracers have to deal with the possible migration of the tracers in the direction perpendicular to the walls. Among the complex mechanisms for migration, we focus on the so called Segré–Silberberg effect which can lead to transverse migration of neutrally buoyant tracers of finite size. We report experimental PIV measurements in a Hele-Shaw cell of 1mm gap, which have been carried out by using neutrally buoyant tracers of size around 10μm. By considering steady flows, we have observed, in particular flow regimes, the effect of an accumulation of the tracers at a certain distance to the wall due to the so called Segré–Silberberg effect. The particle migration is expected to occur at any Reynolds numbers but the migration velocity depends on the Reynolds number. A significant migration therefore takes place each time the observation duration is large enough compared to the migration time. For a given observation duration, the tracers remain uniformly distributed at low Reynolds numbers whereas they all accumulate at the equilibrium position at large ones. When using volume lighting, the PIV algorithm provides the average velocity of the flow through the gap at low Reynolds number, while it leads to the velocity of the flow at the equilibrium position of the tracers at large Reynolds numbers. By considering unsteady flows, we have observed that the migration does not occur if the timescale of flow variation is short compared to the time required for the parabolic flow to develop across the gap. In this case, there is no transverse velocity gradient and the PIV algorithm provides the fluid velocity. Altogether, these results allow us to propose guidelines for the interpretation of PIV measurements in confined flow, which are based on the theoretical predictions of the tracer migration derived by Asmolov . [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: A system in which bubbles coalesced on formation was used to probe one mechanism by which bubbles create sound. The aim was to determine in which situations sound is produced and to predict its amplitude. A set of carefully co-ordinated high-speed video and acoustic timeseries showed that needle-formed bubbles generated loud bubble-acoustic emissions at the instant of coalescence of secondary bubbles with the primary bubble. As the air flow rate increased, the size and number of secondary bubbles increased, and the sound amplitude also increased. On coalescence, the sound pressure always rose initially. A dimensionless scaling found that the sound amplitude emitted scaled with the volume of the secondary bubble. This scaling was shown to be consistent with the sound-emission mechanism being the equalization of pressures in the coalescing bubbles. The trend in amplitude with bubble production rate was well predicted by the scaling. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The present work investigates the mixing of a low-diffusivity dye in a swarm of bubbles at high Reynolds number confined in a Hele-Shaw cell for gas volume fractions ranging from 1.4 to 5.4%. A patch of a fluorescent dye is injected within the swarm and, during its mixing, its concentration is measured at a given location in an observation volume of 4.5 mm 2 by means of Laser Induced Fluorescence at a frequency of 250 Hz. A spectrometer is used to analyse the light issued from the observation volume and to distinguish the fluoresced light from other light sources. Simultaneously, the bubble distribution around the observation volume is imaged with a high speed camera synchronised with the spectrometer in order to assess the LIF technique in bubbly flow. Thanks to the good time resolution, rapid and intense concentration fluctuations corresponding to dye patches passing through the observation volume are recorded and are superimposed to a slow global evolution. This slow global evolution shows first an increase of the concentration and then an exponential decrease due to the mixing by bubble-induced agitation. This exponential decay, which is incompatible with a diffusion process, is consistent with the transport by dye capture in bubbles wakes that are quickly dampened by the shear-stress at the walls. The one-point statistics of the concentration fluctuations (probability density function and spectrum) also point out that mixing in a confined bubbly flow is intermittent and convective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This work deals with the modeling of drop break-up in an inhomogeneous turbulent flow that develops downstream of a concentric restriction in a pipe. The proposed approach consists in coupling Euler–Lagrange simulations of the drop motion to an interface deformation model. First the turbulent flow downstream of the restriction is solved by means of direct numerical simulation. Single drop trajectories are then calculated from the instantaneous force balance acting on the drop within the turbulent field (one-way coupling). Concurrently, the interface deformation is computed assuming the drop to behave as a Rayleigh–Lamb type oscillator forced by the turbulent stress along its trajectory. Criterion for break-up is based upon a critical value of drop deformation. This model has been tested against experimental data. The flow conditions and fluids properties have been chosen to match those experimental investigations. Both turbulent flow statistics and break-up probability calculations are in good agreement with experimental data, strengthening the relevance of this approach for modeling break-up in complex unsteady flow. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]