Experimental study of mass transfer in a dense bubble swarm

We consider the liquid-side mass transfer coefficient k_L in a dense bubble swarm for a wide range of gas volume fraction (0.45%≤α_G≤16.5%). The study is performed for an air–water system in a square column. Bubble size, shape and velocity have been measured for different gas flow rates by means of a high speed camera. Gas volume fraction and bubble velocity have also been measured by a dual-tip optical probe. Both of these measurements show that the bubble vertical velocity decreases when increasing α_G in agreement with previous investigations. The mass transfer is measured from the time evolution of the dissolved oxygen concentration, which is obtained by the gassing-out method. The mass transfer coefficient is found to be very close to that of a single bubble provided the bubble Reynolds number is based on the average equivalent diameter 〈d_eq〉 and the vertical slip velocity 〈V_z〉.     

Shape oscillations and path transition of bubbles rising in a model bubble column

We investigate experimentally the occurrence of shape oscillations accompanied by path transition of periodically produced air bubbles rising in water. Within the period of bubble formation, the induced velocity is measured to examine bubble-liquid and bubble-bubble interactions. The flow is produced in a small-scale bubble column with square-shaped cross section. A capillary aerator produces bubbles of size 3.4 mm at a frequency of 5 Hz. Measuring techniques employed are high-speed imaging to capture bubble shape oscillations and path geometry, and laser-Doppler anemometry (LDA) to measure the velocity in the liquid near the rising bubbles. The experimentally obtained bubble shape data are expanded in Legendre polynomials. The results show the occurrence of oscillations by the periodicity of the expansion coefficients in space. Significant shape oscillations accompanied by path transition are observed as the second-mode oscillation frequency converges to the frequency of the initial shape oscillations. The mean velocity field in the water obtained by LDA agrees well with potential theory. An analysis of the decay of the induced flow shows that there is no interaction between the flow fields of two succeeding 3.4 mm bubbles in the rectilinear path when the bubble production frequency is lower than 7.4 Hz.     

Effect of gas expansion on the velocity of individual Taylor bubbles rising in vertical columns with water: Experimental studies at atmospheric pressure and under vacuum

This study was designed to determine the effect of gas expansion on the velocity of Taylor bubbles rising individually in a vertical column of water. This experimental study was conducted at atmospheric pressure or under vacuum (33.3 and ) using three different acrylic columns with internal diameters of 0.022, 0.032, and 0.052 m, and more than 4.0 m high. A non-intrusive optical method was used to measure velocity and length of Taylor bubbles at five different locations along the columns. The operating conditions used correspond to inertial controlled regime.In experiments performed under vacuum, there is considerable gas expansion during the rise of Taylor bubbles, particularly when they approach the liquid free surface where the pressure drop (due to the hydrostatic pressure) is of the order of magnitude of the absolute pressure. The liquid ahead of the bubble is displaced upward by an amount proportional to the gas expansion resulting in increased bubble velocity. The calculated Reynolds number suggests a laminar regime in the liquid ahead of the bubble. However, the experimentally determined velocity coefficient C for each column was much smaller than 2, which would be expected for laminar flow. The value of C obtained ranges from 1.13±0.09, for the narrowest column, to 1.40±0.24, for the widest column. This suggests that a fully developed laminar flow in the liquid ahead of the bubble is never achieved due to continuous bubble expansion at a variable rate, regardless of column height.The velocity coefficient C can be used to calculate the contribution of liquid motion to bubble velocity. Subtracting this contribution from the measured bubble velocity defines a constant value which is nearly identical to the bubble rise velocity measured in the same column operated as a constant volume system (two ends closed) where gas expansion is absent.     

Unsteady motion of a single bubble in highly viscous liquid and empirical correlation of drag coefficient

The unsteady motion of single bubbles rising freely in a quiescent liquid with high viscosity was measured using a CCD (charge coupled device) camera. Sequences of the recorded frames were digitized and analyzed using image analysis software and the measurements of the acceleration and steady motion of bubbles were obtained. The total drag coefficient was calculated from the accelerating motion to the steady motion with the added mass force and history force included. In virtue of dimensional analysis, the total drag coefficient of single bubbles is correlated as a function of the acceleration number, Archimedes number and Reynolds number based on the equivalent bubble diameter. The proposed correlation represents very well the experimental data of the total drag force in a wide range covering both unsteady accelerating motion and steady motion. The combined added mass and history force coefficient accounting for the accelerating effect on single bubbles was evaluated and correlated.     

Application of the double optic probe technique to distorted tumbling bubbles in aqueous or organic liquid

The optic probe technique is widely used to investigate bubble reactors. To derive values of bubble local velocities and bubble local sizes, a specific signal treatment is usually applied under severe assumptions for bubble path and shape. However, in most industrial reactors, bubble motion is chaotic and no common shape can be assumed.In this work, the reliability of the signal treatment associated with the optic probe technique is examined for distorted and tumbling bubbles. A double-tip optic probe is settled in a glass tank and the rise of bubbles is filmed simultaneously. Several trains of bubbles are studied, interactions between bubbles being gradually increased.Referring to image analysis, several ways to derive mean bubble velocities from optic probe data have been compared. Crenels from front tip and rear tip raw signals are associated and individual bubble velocities are derived. Nevertheless, complete velocity distributions are difficult to obtain, as they depend on the choice of the time within which the bubble is searched on the second tip. Using a simpler approach it is shown that the most probable velocity, calculated through the raw signals inter-correlation, is a correct estimation of the average bubble velocity.Concerning bubble size, bubble chord distributions show too high values due to bubble distortion and deviation. A simplified estimation of bubble mean Sauter diameter, using the most reliable measurements only (i.e., local gas hold-up, local mean bubbling frequency, and most probable bubble velocity), was tested for highly distorted bubbles; this method was validated both in water and cyclohexane.     

Investigation of the unsteady two-phase flow with small bubbles in a model bubble column using phase-Doppler anemometry

The unsteady two-phase flow of water laden with small air bubbles in a model bubble column is investigated experimentally. Phase-Doppler anemometry (PDA) is used for measuring the velocities of water and bubbles. The measured sizes of reflecting tracers in the water and of the air bubbles are used to discriminate between water and bubble data. The investigations are focussed on the unsteady behaviour of the flow and on the interaction between the two phases. The measurement of relative (slip) velocities between bubbles and water reveals information about the dynamic behaviour of the two-phase system under the action of buoyancy on the disperse phase. The evaluation of time series of bubble velocities yields insight into typical frequencies at which the flow fluctuates. It is shown that, at all locations in the flow field, the velocity probability density functions of bubbles and liquid can be described by two superimposed Gaussian functions. The bubbles belonging to the two Gaussians exhibit different slip velocities. The probability for the occurrence of bubble collisions is quantified on the basis of the PDA data.     

Numerical investigation of the drag closure for bubbles in bubble swarms

The present paper describes an Euler–Lagrange model utilizing a drag closure derived from direct numerical simulations (front-tracking model) for (i) single isolated bubbles and (ii) bubbles rising in bubble swarms, expressed as a function of the local gas fraction. The model is applied to the prediction of an air/water system in a bubble column and for which experimental data is available. The effect of variation in size of the mapping window for the interphase coupling between the Eulerian and Lagrangian framework is investigated for both closure relations. It is found that the drag closure as a function of the local gas fraction is an improvement over the use of the drag closure for isolated single bubbles for the prediction of bubbly flow.     

Cluster-based drag coefficient model for simulating gas-solid flow in a fast-fluidized bed

Drag coefficient is of essential importance for simulation of heterogeneous gas-solid flows in fast-fluidized beds, which is greatly affected by their clustering nature. In this paper, a cluster-based drag coefficient model is developed using a hydrodynamic equivalent cluster diameter for calculating Reynolds number of the particle phase. Numerical simulation is carried out in a gas-solid fast-fluidized bed with an Eulerian-Lagrangian approach and the gaseous turbulent flow is simulated using large eddy simulation (LES). A Lagrange approach is used to predict the properties of particle phase from the equation of motion. The collisions between particles are taken into account by means of direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method. Compared with the drag coefficient model proposed by Wen and Yu, results predicted by the cluster-based drag coefficient model are in good agreement with experimental results, indicating that the cluster-based drag coefficient model is suitable to describe various statuses in fast-fluidized beds.     

Multi-scale analysis of gas–liquid interaction and CFD simulation of gas–liquid flow in bubble columns

The ratio of effective drag coefficient to bubble diameter is of critical importance for CFD simulation of gas–liquid flow in bubble columns. In this study, a novel model is proposed to calculate the ratio on the basis of the Dual-Bubble-Size (DBS) model. The motivation of the study is that a stability condition reflecting the compromise between different dominant mechanisms can serve for a closure in addition to mass and momentum conservative constraints, and the interphase momentum transfer should be related to different paths of energy dissipation. With the DBS model, we can first offer a physical interpretation on macro-scale regime transition via the shift of global minimum point of micro-scale energy dissipation from one potential trough to the other. Then the proposed drag model is integrated into a CFD simulation. Prior to this integration, we investigate the respective effects of bubble diameter and correction factor and found that the effect of bubble diameter is limited, whereas the correction factor due to the bubble swarm effect is eminent and appropriate correction factor has to be selected for different correlations of standard drag efficient to be in accord with experiments. By contrast, the DBS drag model can well predict the radial gas holdup distribution, the total gas holdup as well as the two-phase flow field without the need to adjust model parameters, showing its great potential and advantage in understanding the complex nature of multi-scale structure of gas–liquid flow in bubble columns.     

Hydrodynamic stability of a bubble column with a bottom-mounted point air source

Bubble column is widely used in both industrial and environmental applications. In this study, we examine the flow dynamics and stability of a bubble column driven by a point air source centrally mounted at the bottom using Phase Doppler anemometry (PDA). The model cylindrical bubble column had an inner diameter of 152 mm and was filled with the liquid to about 1 m height, above the point air source, which was made of a 30-mm diameter perforated air stone. The bubble diameters were within the range of 400–1300 μm. A customized setup was developed for accurate PDA measurements of the two phases, and detailed turbulent characteristics of the liquid phase velocity, bubble diameter, bubble velocity and the slip velocity were collected throughout the column. The comprehensiveness of the data set enabled a close examination of the hydrodynamic stability inside the column. Measurements were taken at three different air rates, namely 0.13, 0.25 and 0.38 L/min (corresponding to average gas volume fractions of 0.0065, 0.0138 and 0.0197, respectively). The results illustrated a large-scale coherent liquid circulation pattern inside the column. The circulation pattern in the upper column was relatively steady, while the pattern in the lower column was strongly unsteady with the probability density functions (pdf) for both the liquid and bubble velocities showing distinct twin peaks. An analysis based on the determination of the bubble drag forces and transversal lift forces is performed by decomposing the twin-peaked pdfs into two separated Gaussian distributions, one for the upward flow due to the bubble rises and the other for the downward flow due to circulation. Through the decomposition, a stability criterion can then be established by choosing the local bubble size as the representative length scale for the turbulent eddies inside the column. The analysis with the criterion illustrates why a steady circulation pattern was achieved in the upper column, and at the same time shows that the instability at the bottom column was induced by the low frequency meandering of the bubble swarm.     

Lift force on bubbles in a bubble column reactor: Experimental analysis

The lift force acting on bubbles in a swarm has been estimated by analyzing the instantaneous velocity-time data obtained using LDA in a cylindrical bubble column. Phase distinction was achieved through the multiresolution analysis of the velocity-time data. Several important issues related to the transverse motion of bubbles subjected to a shear field have been discussed quantitatively. The actually measured bubble sizes, the respective slip velocity values in transverse and axial directions and the local shear rates (γ) enabled the verification of known formulations for the lift coefficient (C_L) for bubbles. At many locations in the column the radial flux of the gas phase by turbulent dispersion and the radial slip were estimated. The radially inward movement of bubbles from low to high axial velocity (from column wall to center, i.e., C_L<0) was observed at most of the measurement locations. The local lift coefficient was estimated using the transverse drag force and the values support the results from the material balance approach. The estimated C_L values showed a wide variation over the column cross-section.     

Lift force in bubbly suspensions

Closure relations are presented for the lift coefficient for ordered arrays of 2-D and 3-D bubbles at various bubble volume fractions. These were determined via lattice Boltzmann simulations of bubble rise in periodic boxes, where the bubbles were also subjected to shear. The single-bubble lift coefficient, determined by low-shear computational experiments, varies in a systematic manner with the aspect ratio of the bubbles. At high shear rates the lift coefficient manifested a noticeable shear rate-dependence and it could even become negative. Through a linear stability analysis of the uniformly bubbling state, it is demonstrated that the lift force can destabilize a uniformly rising array of highly distorted bubbles and give way to columnar structures.     

Hydrodynamic characterization of a needle sparger rectangular bubble column: Homogeneous flow, static bubble plume and oscillating bubble plume

In this work a detailed experimental hydrodynamic characterization of a needle sparger rectangular bubble column has been performed. The liquid velocity profiles and bubble plume oscillation frequency have been measured by means of laser Doppler anemometry (LDA), and the bubble velocity map by particle image velocimetry (PIV). In this way, the influence of the superficial gas velocity, liquid height and aeration pattern on the column flow structure was analysed. A highly uniform upward flow structure with down flow near the walls was obtained by means of a full-length aeration pattern. This flow structure was preserved even for high gas fractions values. The partial-length aeration patterns with the aerated zone (defined as the aerated width divided by the column width) larger than 0.7 provide a bubble plume and two pure liquid vortical structures in the column bottom, although they are static in nature. With aerated zones lower than 0.6, an oscillating bubble plume is obtained. A non-dimensional analysis of bubble plume oscillation frequency shows a dependence of bubble plume behaviour with the aerated zone. In this way, two different types of bubble plume oscillations, namely confined bubble plume oscillation and free bubble plume oscillation, are introduced and analysed.     

Impact of Surfactant Chemistry on Bubble Column Systems

The impact of surfactant addition on the overall holdup, drag coefficient, and bubble size distribution (BSD) in a bubble column operating at industrially relevant superficial velocities was analyzed. A range of surfactants was examined, including alcohols, sugars, and antifoaming agents. It was ascertained that the effect of a surfactant on the holdup and BSD could be related to the chemical structure of the compound, specifically its hydrophilic/hydrophobic nature as characterized by the octanol/water partition coefficient. Addition of 2‐propanol to an air/water system induces a behavior similar to the fermentation media used in aerobic bioprocesses, meaning that such a system can be applied as a meaningful physical analogue in pilot‐scale experimentation.     

Roles of drag reducing polymers in single- and multi-phase flows

It has become a well-known fact that finding sustainable solutions to the unavoidable high pressure losses accompanying pipeline flows to increase the pumping capacity without necessarily adding more pump stations is inevitable. Polymers, as one of the drag reducing agents which have been found to offer such an economic relieve, is the most widely investigated and most often employed in industries because they can produce drag reduction up to 80% when they are added in minute concentrations. In addition, polymer additives modify the flow configurations of multiphase flows to such an extent that stratification of individual phases is enhanced thereby making the separation of the phases at the fluid destination much easier. The achievements so far made and the challenges facing the use of polymers as drag reducers in turbulent single and multiphase flows are comprehensively reviewed. This review discusses the experimental studies of the effects of polymer additives in turbulent flows, the analytical studies, and the proposed models as well as the suggested mechanisms that explain the drag reduction. Likewise, specific areas of interest in the review include phenomena of drag reduction by polymers, factors influencing the effectiveness of the drag reducing polymers, methods of injecting the polymers into the base fluids, degradation of the polymers and industrial applications of polymers as drag reducing agents. The current and future research interests are also addressed. Although finding reveals that there are quite a lot of research in this area, most of the experimental and theoretical works are devoted to single phase flows while the remaining ones are mostly directed towards gas–liquid flows except in very recent time when investigation into the use of polymers in liquid–liquid flows is being focused. Despite this voluminous works on drag reducing polymers, there are no universally accepted models and hence the mechanisms of drag reductions by polymers.     

A gas holdup model for cocurrent air-water-fiber bubble columns

A gas holdup model is developed for cocurrent air-water-fiber bubble column flows using the drift-flux model. The model coefficients are estimated using a nonlinear least square method and systematically acquired experimental data. The model correlates gas holdup with superficial gas and liquid velocity, and fiber type and mass fraction. The model reproduces most experimental data within ±10% error and all but 3 of the 3839 experimental data points within ±15% error. It also accurately predicts air-water bubble column gas holdup data; these data were not used in estimating the model coefficients. The physical implications of the model coefficients are also discussed.     

Bubble formation from a free-standing tube in microgravity

The bubble characteristics and the bubble detachment mechanisms during injection of air from a free-standing capillary tube submerged in water were studied in microgravity. The experiments were conducted in the 2.2-s drop tower at the NASA Glenn Research Center. A tube, 0.51 mm in diameter and 150 mm long, in a rectangular test section ( long) served as the injector. Images of the bubbles during the drops were acquired using a high-speed camera for various gas flow rates. Bubble detachment was observed for all the Weber numbers tested (0.28-31.12). This observation was different from previous studies using plate orifices in microgravity when bubble detachment was observed only for Weber numbers larger than 8. In order to resolve these differences, experiments were carried out using plate orifices. It was found that the bubbles detached from the orifice for all Weber numbers and that the bubbles formed were larger than those formed with the tube injector, particularly at low gas flow rates. The availability of a large area for the bubble to anchor itself and the presence of the chamber underneath the orifice could cause these differences. The effects of the chamber volume on the unsteadiness of bubble formation in plate-orifices at low gas flow rates are discussed.     

A drag correlation of fluid particles rising through stagnant liquids in vertical pipes at intermediate Reynolds numbers

A drag correlation for a fluid particle rising along the axis of a vertical pipe at low and intermediate Reynolds numbers, Re, is proposed by making use of available correlations and a numerical database accumulated by interface tracking simulations. The accuracy of the interface tracking method has been verified through comparisons between measured and predicted velocities of single drops in vertical pipes. Being similar to drag model for solid spheres proposed by Michaelides, the developed drag correlation takes into account inertial and wall effects as their linear combination. The correlation gives good estimation of the drag coefficient for fluid particles rising through stagnant liquids in vertical pipes under the conditions of 0.13?Eo?30, −10.0?log M?2.0, 0.083?Re<200, 0?κ?10.0 and λ?0.6, where Eo is the Eötvös number, M the Morton number, κ the viscosity ratio and λ the ratio of particle diameter to pipe diameter.     

Development of a CFD Model of Bubble Column Bioreactors: Part One – A Detailed Experimental Study

The holdup and bubble size distribution (BSD) in bubble columns using both air/water and an industrially relevant air/fermentation media system are investigated. It was found that the BSD in the air/fermentation media system was quite narrow and did not change with height. In contrast, the BSD in the air/water system varied considerably with height depending on the sparger design used. Holdup measurements were also performed for different superficial velocities. The holdup in the air/fermentation media system was greater than that for the air/water system, a result attributed to the presence of surface‐active compounds in the fermentation media.     

Experimental study of drag reduction by a polymeric additive in slug two-phase flow of crude oil and air in horizontal pipes

In this study the effect of the presence of a drag reducing agent (DRA) on the pressure drop in cocurrent horizontal pipes carrying slug two-phase flow of air and crude oil is investigated. An experimental set-up is erected. The test section of the experimental set-up is consisted of: a smooth pipe of polycarbonate with 10.3 m long and 2.54 cm ID, a rough pipe of galvanized iron with 8.8 m long and 2.54 cm ID and a rough pipe of galvanized iron with 8.8 m long and 1.27 cm ID. The employing DRA is a Polyalpha-olefin (Polyisobutylene). The percent drag reduction (%DR) is calculated using the obtained experimental data, in presence of the DRA. The results show that addition of DRA could be effective up to some doses of DRA after which the pressure drop is kept constant. A %DR of about 40 is obtained for some experimental conditions.