Experimental studies of liquid weeping and bubbling phenomena at submerged orifices

Experimental studies on the liquid weeping phenomenon at a submerged circular orifice have been conducted under a range of superficial orifice gas velocities (0.25 cm/s to 100 m/s), column and plate specifications, orifice sizes, fluid properties, and pressures up to 3.5 MPa. As the primary focus of this study, weeping rates and bubble formation at a single-orifice plate are investigated while operating within the bubbling regime at velocities of 0.25-100 cm/s. Upon monitoring of the pressure fluctuations within the plenum region, the bubbling frequency and nominal bubble size are determined to provide insight into the weeping phenomenon. Under similar scrutiny, weeping in the jetting regime, which is generally ignored or disregarded as trivial, is briefly considered for long-term consequences for industrial plants that typically operate over month or year periods.