Bubble Size Reduction Using Mesh Bubble Breakers in Two-Phase Vertical Co-Flow

Bubble breakers have been shown to reduce the bubble size and hence increasing the bubble surface-to-volume ratio facilitating higher mass transfer. We report on an experimental study investigating the effect of mesh-type bubble breaker on two-phase co-flow in a vertical column. A range of gas-liquid flow rates ratios (GLR) has been considered that covers the two-phase regimes from bubbly flow to slug flow. A vertical glass tube was used as the experimental apparatus which provides full optical access. A high speed imaging system was used to capture the flow dynamics for bubble characterization. The results show that the bubble size generated by the mesh bubble breaker is greatly affected by the pore size. For a bubbly flow regime, the initial bubble size was reduced by approximately 60%–70% for a pore size of 1mm and by about 45%–50% for a pore size of 4mm. It is found that the transition from bubbly flow to slug flow can be affected by the mesh bubble breaker. The results show that in general, the mesh bubble breaker increases the GLR limit for the transition from bubbly to slug flow.