Particle Tracking Velocimetry Measurement of Bubble-Bubble Interaction

Bubble-bubble interaction is a quite fundamental issue to understand multiphase flow dynamics and to improve mathematical models of dispersed multiphase flow for higher volume fraction of dispersion. In this study, the bubble-bubble interaction is measured using Particle Tracking Velocimetry (PTV) in various environments. First, bubbles sliding on a vertical wall are measured using 2-D PTV. Second, the free rising bubbles in an unbounded space are measured applying 3-D PTV. Third, the simultaneous measurement for gas and liquid phases in the layer of wall-sliding bubbles is carried out. The measurement data have shown that the average bubble-bubble interaction patterns in the wall-sliding bubbles and in the free rising bubbles were attractive in the vertical direction and repulsive in the horizontal direction. The relation between the carrier phase flow structure and the bubbles’ motion is detected to explain the mechanism of the bubble-bubble interaction.