Dynamics of Bubble Motion and Gas-Liquid Interfacial Phenomena

Two aspects of the dynamics associated with oscillating bubbles are discussed in this paper: oscillatory motion of bubble itself and bubble-surface wave. The primary issue here is whether it is the case that the surface wave occurs in sychronization with the bubble’s oscillatory motion. The dynamic process of wave formation and propagation along the surface of an oscillating bubble is studied based on high-speed imaging, through which the wave characteristics such as wavelength and phase/propagation speed are evaluated as mostly the vertical projection of rather regularly generated bubble-surface ripples. The bubble oscillating motion is characterized quantitatively by the bubble-gyration (or edge-rotation) frequency, diameter and velocity. In addition, dynamics of mass transfer across gas–liquid interface in a gas-dispersed (continuous liquid) system are examined via high-sensitivity, high-speed imaging. The dispersive dynamics of the dissolved component from the gas into the liquid phase are visualized using laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) with pH-sensitive pyrene (HPTS) for both a single and multi-bubble systems. The coupling between these dynamics of surface/interfacial flow and mass transfer is attempted towards better understanding of such complex phenomena prevailing in the vicinity of the fluctuating gas–liquid interface. Enhancement of the mass transfer is found to be associated with the (nonlinear) wave formation, influence of which could be included in modeling the mass-transfer coefficient, apart from an physical account of the near-surface concentration gradient. Due to significant bubble–bubble interactions in a multi-bubble system, the dispersive pattern of low-pH region arising from gas dissolution becomes extremely complex; the visual estimate of time variation in fluorescence level is then mainly made over a fixed space in the gas–liquid flow system.