† Corresponding author. E-mail:
Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51661020, 11504149, and 11364024), the Postdoctoral Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 2014M560371), and the Funds for Distinguished Young Scientists of Lanzhou University of Technology (Grant No. J201304).
Aiming at the interaction and coalescence of bubbles in gas–liquid two-phase flow, a multi-field coupling model was established to simulate deformation and dynamics of multi-bubble in gas–liquid two-phase flow by coupling magnetic field, phase field, continuity equation, and momentum equation. Using the phase field method to capture the interface of two phases, the geometric deformation and dynamics of a pair of coaxial vertical rising bubbles under the applied uniform magnetic field in the vertical direction were investigated. The correctness of results is verified by mass conservation method and the comparison of the existing results. The results show that the applied uniform magnetic field can effectively shorten the distance between the leading bubble and the trailing bubble, the time of bubbles coalescence, and increase the velocity of bubbles coalescence. Within a certain range, as the intensity of the applied uniform magnetic field increases, the velocity of bubbles coalescence is proportional to the intensity of the magnetic field, and the time of bubbles coalescence is inversely proportional to the intensity of the magnetic field.
Gas–liquid two-phase flow with bubbles as the dispersed phase is common in many industrial applications, such as material research, metallurgical engineering, electrolytic machining, petrochemical industry, chemical engineering, energy power, nuclear fusion reaction, and so on.[1–3] The interaction and coalescence of bubbles in liquid will have a significant impact on the gas–liquid contact time and contact area, which indirectly changes the heat transfer, mass transfer, and chemical reaction in the gas–liquid system. Therefore, research on gas–liquid two-phase flow is of great value.
Due to the complexity of gas–liquid two-phase flow, more and more researches on the motion of gas–liquid two-phase flow have started to use numerical simulation in recent years. Firstly, it can reduce the time and cost of the experiment; secondly, it can reduce the risk of the experimenters in the dangerous experimental environment; thirdly, it can discover some important information that cannot be obtained in the experiment. The numerical simulation of free-interface deformation in gas–liquid two-phase flow is very complicated, and there are many numerical simulation methods. The phase field method[4] considers that the interface is a smooth transition region with a certain width, a phase variable is introduced in the flow field. The phase variable is constant inside the single-medium fluid and continuously changes in the interface region. The interface of multiple media is represented by a contour line (contour surface) of the phase variable. The motion of the interface is controlled by updating the fourth-order partial differential Cahn–Hilliard (CH) equation of the phase variable. The phase field method can deal with multi-media problems with complex geometric topology changes on the interface, including complex structural changes such as splitting and fusion of interfaces. The phase field method does not require a reinitialization step in the level set method, nor does it require a reconfiguration of interface in the volume-of-fluid (VOF) method. It greatly reduces the amount of computation, from the programming point of view, it is easier to implement and promote to high-dimensional problems. The interface information functions in the VOF and level-set methods are the volume ratio of the fluid independent of the flow parameters and the signed distance function of the interface, respectively. The phase variables in the phase field method are the physical quantities associated with the flow parameters. In this case, the CH equation can be solved by coupling with the flow control equation, thereby avoiding the destruction of the physical conservation relationship caused by artificial processing near the interface. The phase field calculation method can effectively simulate the gas–liquid two-phase flow problem with large-density ratio by coupling the phase field with other external fields such as gravity field, flow field, temperature field, electric field, and magnetic field.
The applied magnetic field is one of the effective methods to control the change of bubbles in the gas–liquid two-phase flow without contact. Nakatsuka et al.[5] considered the magnetic field effects of air and steam bubbles in a non-uniform magnetic field in the experiment and found that the applied magnetic field can control the flow of bubbles in the heat pipe and increase the heat transfer rate. Tagawa[6] conducted a research on the effects of a non-uniform magnetic field on a dielectric fluid, using the electrolytic potential solution method to calculate the Lorentz force. In his research, Ki[7] numerically simulates the effects of an applied uniform magnetic field on dielectric single bubbles and droplets. Sihafiei Dizaji et al.[8] numerically simulated the dynamics of steam bubbles rising in ferrofluid in the presence of a magnetic field by using the VOF method. Ansari et al.[9] also studied the dynamics of a single bubble in a liquid column with the level-set method, where both phases are dielectric. Guo et al.[10] coupled the VOF and level-set methods to study the MNF (magnetic mean nanofluid) film under the effects of uniform magnetic field. In her research, Tian[11] used the VOF method to study the motion behavior of multiple bubbles in conductive fluid under the effects of uniform vertical magnetic field. Numerical simulation of bubbles coalescence in media under the effects of uniform magnetic field by Hadidi et al.[12] These researchers found that a uniform magnetic field only affects the interface of bubbles in the dielectric field. Phase field method is one of the most popular interface capture methods for simulating complex incompressible multi-media, but it is rarely used in previous experimental studies. Therefore, the phase field method is used to numerically simulate the deformation and dynamic behavior of a pair of bubbles coalescing in a vertical uniform magnetic field.
Yue et al.[13] proposed a famous continuity equation and momentum equation for the phase field simulation of two-phase systems of microstructured complex fluids. But the two equations are obviously different from the continuity equation and momentum equation of this study. In this study, considering that both phases of gas–liquid two-phase flow are inmiscible and viscous incompressible fluids, and under the effects of gravity, surface tension, and magnetic field forces, the continuity equation and momentum equation[14] are expressed as follows:
Complex motion changes and geometric topological changes occur during the coalescence of bubbles in a gas–liquid two-phase flow. Therefore, the key to this research is to be able to capture the changes of the interface. The phase field method tracks the change of the interface by updating the fourth-order partial differential CH equation of the phase variable,[16,17]
G is the chemical potential, and its expression is
In the phase field method, the interface is considered to be a continuous transition region of a certain width, so that the surface tension is continuously distributed in the transition region, which can be expressed by the following equation:
The magnetic force acts only on the interface where the magnetic permeability is discontinuous, and it will disappear if the magnetic permeability is constant. The magnetic field applied to the flow field area will exert an inducing force at the interface of the two phases, which can be expressed as
In this study, the relevant fluid property parameters are as follows:
The dimensionless parameters, including the Eotvos number Eo, the Morton number Mo,[20] the Reynolds number Re, and the Weber number We, are used to describe the motion characteristics of the bubble, which are calculated as follows:
The geometric model of this research is shown in Fig.
The interface information functions in the VOF and level-set methods are the volume ratio of the fluid independent of the flow parameters and the signed distance function of the interface, respectively. And the phase variables in the phase field method are the physical quantities associated with the flow parameters. In this case, the CH equation can be solved by coupling with the flow control equation, thereby avoiding the destruction of the physical conservation relationship caused by artificial processing near the interface.
Figure
In Fig.
Figures
Figure
In order to more clearly observe the direction and magnitude of the velocity around the rising bubble, figure
Different applied magnetic field intensities have different effects on the dynamics and geometric deformation of a pair of coaxial vertical rising bubbles. Figure
The applied uniform magnetic field can effectively shorten the distance between leading bubbles and trailing bubbles. Figure
An applied uniform magnetic field can effectively shorten the time of coalescence of leading bubbles and trailing bubbles. Figure
The applied uniform magnetic field can effectively increase the velocity of bubbles coalescence. Figure
According to the Faraday field line tube method in electromagnetic field, at the interface between the two media, as long as the permeability is not equal, the magnetic field force at the interface must be perpendicular to the interface, and always points from the medium with high permeability to the medium with low permeability.[22] Figure
In Fig.
Figure
The interaction and coalescence of bubbles in a gas–liquid two-phase flow can have a significant effect on heat transfer, mass transfer, and chemical reactions in a gas–liquid system. In this study, a two-dimensional multi-field coupling model for simulating a pair of bubble rises in a gas–liquid two-phase flow is established by coupling the magnetic field, laminar flow, and phase field for the interaction and coalescence of bubbles in a gas–liquid two-phase flow. The geometric deformation and dynamic behavior of a pair of coaxial vertically rising bubbles in a uniform magnetic field in the vertical direction were investigated. The results show that the uniform magnetic field in the vertical direction will affect the shape of bubbles, making them narrower and longer, and the vertical distance between leading bubbles and trailing bubbles will also decrease. In the case of the magnetic scalar potential ranging from 2.0 × 104 A to 3.0 × 104 A, with the increase of the applied uniform magnetic field intensity, the velocity when a pair of coaxial vertically rising bubbles coalescence is proportional to the magnetic field intensity, and the time of coalescence is inversely proportional to the magnetic field intensity. This provides a way to effectively control the bubble change in the gas–liquid two-phase flow without contact and to a certain extent to ensure the personal safety of the experimental personnel and staff.
[1] | |
[2] | |
[3] | |
[4] | |
[5] | |
[6] | |
[7] | |
[8] | |
[9] | |
[10] | |
[11] | |
[12] | |
[13] | |
[14] | |
[15] | |
[16] | |
[17] | |
[18] | |
[19] | |
[20] | |
[21] | |
[22] |