The effect of probability of coalescence on the evolution of bubble sizes in a turbulent pipeline flow: A numerical study
A population balance method in which continuum and discrete phases are integrated is developed to simulate the evolution of polydisperse population of bubbles in a turbulent pipeline flow. The investigation is focused on the effect of the coalescence efficiency on this evolution. A dilute system of bubbles under microgravity conditions is considered. It is found that if the initial coalescence efficiency is low, a slight increase produces a significant effect oil the bubble coalescence rate, and thus on the evolution of the Population. If, however, the initial coalescence efficiency is high, its increase results in a marginal effect on the way the population evolves. The results of simulations are validated against experimental data on the population mean. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
coalescence bubbles population evolution turbulent flow