Research on gas bubble merging through the lattice Boltzmann method

Abstract

A numerical investigation of gas bubble merging in a liquid is carried out via the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) in this work. The bubble merging process dependence on the bubble gap and the surface tension is obtained. It is found that the critical gap for bubble merging is smaller for smaller surface tension coefficients. Additionally, the merging velocity is computed to illustrate the merging process, which shows a rapid damping oscillation. The peak merging velocity value and the time taken to reach the peak velocity are found to be linear with the surface tension coefficient in a log-log coordinate system. The effects of fluid viscosity and the bubble gap on the merging velocity are also examined. Finally, the merging patterns for multiple bubbles are presented.

Keywords

Gas bubble merge lattice Boltzmann method

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