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Insights into the bubble formation dynamics in converging shape microchannels using CLSVOF method

  • Abdul Raize , Pooja Kumari , Somasekhara Goud Sontti and Arnab Atta ORCID logo EMAIL logo
Published/Copyright: June 29, 2023
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Chemical Product and Process Modeling
From the journal Chemical Product and Process Modeling Volume 19 Issue 2

Abstract

Bubble formation in a square microchannel having a converging shape merging junction has been studied using the Coupled Level-Set and Volume-of-Fluid (CLSVOF) method. The influence of variations in merging junction angles, fluid properties, and operating conditions on the bubble length and pressure drop has been analyzed. The results show a direct relationship between surface tension, gas-liquid flow ratio, and the inverse relation of continuous phase viscosity with the bubble length. Moreover, opposite variations of these parameters are observed for pressure drop. This work reveals a discerning influence of the angle variations of merging junction on the interplay between inertial, viscous, and surface tension forces in the bubble formation mechanism. We envisage that this numerical work will be of significant interest for the process intensification in various industries that deal with gas-liquid microfluidic systems.

Keywords: computational fluid dynamics; Newtonian fluid; segmented flow; Taylor flow; two-phase flow

Dedicated to Professor Faïçal Larachi of the Department of Chemical Engineering at Université Laval, Québec, Canada on his 60th birthday.

Corresponding author: Arnab Atta, Multiscale Computational Fluid Dynamics (mCFD) Laboratory, Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur, Kharagpur, West Bengal 721302, India, E-mail:

  1. Author contributions: All the authors have accepted responsibility for the entire content of this submitted manuscript and approved submission. A. Raize: Numerical simulation, Data curation, Writing: original. P. Kumari: Investigation, Validation, Writing: original, review & editing. S. G. Sontti: Conceptualization, Methodology, Supervision, Writing: review & editing. A. Atta: Conceptualization, Methodology, Project Administration, Supervision, Resources, Writing: review & editing. A. Raize and P. Kumari contributed equally to this work.

  2. Research funding: None declared.

  3. Conflict of interest statement: The authors declare no conflicts of interest regarding this article.

Nomenclature

Ca

capillary number η c U B σ

j G

superficial gas velocity (m/s)

j L

superficial liquid velocity j L = j L 1 + j L 2 ( m / s )

j TP

two-phase mixture velocity j T P = j G + j L ( m / s )

L

length (m)

D H

hydraulic diameter (µm)

n ̂

unit normal vector

P

pressure (Pa)

Q

flow rate (μL/s)

Re

Reynolds number ρ D U L η L

U B

bubble velocity (m/s)

Greek symbol

α

inlet angle between main and side inlets (°)

θ

contact angle (°)

β

volume fraction

γ ̇

shear rate (1/s)

δ

liquid film thickness (m)

η

dynamic viscosity (kg/m s)

ρ

density k g / m 3

σ

surface tension (N/m)

τ

shear stress (Pa)

η

dynamic viscosity (mPa s)

η d

viscosity of dispersed phase (mPa s)

η c

viscosity of continuous phase (mPa s)

λ

η c η d

Subscripts

B

bubble

G

gas

L

liquid

c

continuous phase

d

dispersed phase

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Received: 2023-03-30
Accepted: 2023-06-13
Published Online: 2023-06-29

© 2023 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Editorial
  3. CPPM special issue in honor of Professor Faïçal Larachi
  4. Research Articles
  5. Predicting buoyant jet characteristics: a machine learning approach
  6. Insights into the bubble formation dynamics in converging shape microchannels using CLSVOF method
  7. Comparison of different CFD approaches for the simulation of developing free surface two-phase flow in straight and bent pipes
  8. A new approach to model the fluid dynamics in sandwich packings
  9. Effect of novel mixed impeller on local bubble size and flow regime transition in pilot scale gas-liquid stirred tank reactor
  10. Quantitative structure-electrochemistry relationship modeling of a series of anticancer agents using MLR and ANN approaches
  11. Extractive desulfurization of crude petroleum oil and liquid fuels using trihexyl tetradecyl phosphonium bis(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate ionic liquid
  12. CFD-aided contraction-expansion static mixer design for oil-in-water emulsification
  13. Liquid-liquid flow pattern and mass transfer in a rotating millimeter channel reactor
  14. By-product Eucalyptus leaves valorization in the basic dye adsorption: kinetic equilibrium and thermodynamic study
https://doi.org/10.1515/cppm-2023-0030
Keywords for this article
computational fluid dynamics; Newtonian fluid; segmented flow; Taylor flow; two-phase flow

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Editorial
  3. CPPM special issue in honor of Professor Faïçal Larachi
  4. Research Articles
  5. Predicting buoyant jet characteristics: a machine learning approach
  6. Insights into the bubble formation dynamics in converging shape microchannels using CLSVOF method
  7. Comparison of different CFD approaches for the simulation of developing free surface two-phase flow in straight and bent pipes
  8. A new approach to model the fluid dynamics in sandwich packings
  9. Effect of novel mixed impeller on local bubble size and flow regime transition in pilot scale gas-liquid stirred tank reactor
  10. Quantitative structure-electrochemistry relationship modeling of a series of anticancer agents using MLR and ANN approaches
  11. Extractive desulfurization of crude petroleum oil and liquid fuels using trihexyl tetradecyl phosphonium bis(2-ethylhexyl) phosphate ionic liquid
  12. CFD-aided contraction-expansion static mixer design for oil-in-water emulsification
  13. Liquid-liquid flow pattern and mass transfer in a rotating millimeter channel reactor
  14. By-product Eucalyptus leaves valorization in the basic dye adsorption: kinetic equilibrium and thermodynamic study
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