Bubble formation from sub-millimeter orifices: Experimental analysis and modeling

We developed a theoretical model that estimates the bubble size from sub-millimeter orifices under variable gas flow conditions. The model is successfully tested for orifices with diameters in the range of 0.2 mm to 1 mm under both quasi-static and dynamic bubbling regimes. The model is able to predict the final bubble radius with an accuracy better than 20% compared with the experimental results. Moreover, we explicitly look into the influence of the gas reservoir volume V-c upstream of the orifice on the gas reservoir pressure P-c by simultaneously monitoring the events, i.e. changes in the state of bubble, upstream and downstream of orifices. We found that, variations in Pc reduce as V-c increases. Analysis of the dynamics of the dominating forces acting on a bubble show that, enlarging V-c mainly amplifies the gas momentum force and the liquid inertia force. Hence, the bubble detachment mechanism may no longer be only buoyancy driven.