It has been observed in previous experimental studies that round helium jets injected into air display a repetitive structure for a long distance, somewhat similar to the buoyancy-induced flickering observed in diffusion flames. In order to investigate the influence of gravity on the near-injector development of the flow, a linear temporal stability analysis of a round helium jet injected into air was performed. The flow was assumed to be isothermal and locally parallel; viscous and diffusive effects were ignored. The variables were represented as the sum of the mean value and a normal-mode small disturbance. An ordinary differential equation governing the amplitude of the pressure disturbance was derived. The velocity and density profiles in the shear layer, and the Froude number (signifying the effects of gravity) were the three important parameters in this equation. Together with the boundary conditions, an eigenvalue problem was formulated. Assuming that the velocity and density profiles in the shear layer to be represented by hyperbolic tangent functions, the eigenvalue problem was solved for various values of Froude number. The temporal growth rates and the phase velocity of the disturbances were obtained. The temporal growth rates of the disturbances increased as the Froude number was reduced (i.e. gravitational effects increased), indicating the destabilizing role played by gravity.

The effects of buoyancy on the flow regimes of submerged gas injection were studied in this investigation. A capillary tube submerged in water was used for gas injection in microgravity and terrestrial conditions, and the resulting flow regimes and bubble sizes were documented. The effects of liquid co-flow and reduced surface tension were also analyzed. Under reduced gravity, three flow regimes were observed over the range of conditions tested. At low gas flow rates, the bubbles did not detach from the injector, forming an interconnected bubble cluster that adhered to the injector. Single bubbles started detaching and moving away from the injector when the Weber number reached a value around 3. At gas flow rates corresponding to a Weber number value of 10, the bubble coalescence regime was observed near the injector. It was found that the absence of buoyancy prevented the formation of the jetting regime. For all gas throughputs, the co-flowing liquid aided the detachment of the bubbles, resulting in the generation of more uniform bubbles than in quiescent liquids. The presence of co-flow resulted in a smaller bubble size accompanied by an increased frequency of bubble formation. Reduced surface tension produced a similar effect, resulting in smaller bubbles.