Premium
Rising velocity of a swarm of spherical bubbles in power law fluids at high reynolds numbers
Author(s) -
Chhabra R. P.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
the canadian journal of chemical engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.404
H-Index - 67
eISSN - 1939-019X
pISSN - 0008-4034
DOI - 10.1002/cjce.5450760118
Subject(s) - reynolds number , bubble , swarm behaviour , mechanics , power law , work (physics) , physics , volume fraction , classical mechanics , statistical physics , mathematics , thermodynamics , mathematical optimization , turbulence , statistics
In this work, a theoretical scheme for estimating the rise velocity of a swarm of spherical bubbles through quiescent power law liquids at high Reynolds number is developed. The inter‐bubble interactions have been accounted for by the use of a cell model. The effect of the power law index and the volume fraction of the gas on the rise velocity is elucidated. Depending upon the degree of shearthinning behaviour and the gas fraction, the swarm may rise slower or faster than a single bubble. This behaviour has been explained qualitatively in terms of two competing mechanisms.