Effects of surfactants on bubble-induced turbulence

Abstract

We use experiments to explore the effect of surfactants on bubble-induced turbulence (BIT) at different scales, considering how the bubbles affect the flow kinetic energy, anisotropy and extreme events. To this end, high-resolution particle shadow velocimetry measurements are carried out in a bubble column in which the flow is generated by bubble swarms rising in water for two different bubble diameters (3 and 4 mm) and moderate gas volume fractions (0.5 %–1.3 %). We use tap water as the base liquid and add 1-Pentanol as an additional surfactant with varying bulk concentration, leading to different bubble shapes and surface boundary conditions. The results reveal that with increasing surfactant concentration, the BIT generated increases in strength, even though bubbles of a given size rise more slowly with surfactants. We also find that the level of anisotropy in the flow is enhanced with increasing surfactant concentration for bubbles of the same size, and that for the same surfactant concentration, smaller bubbles generate stronger anisotropy in the flow. Concerning the intermittency quantified by the normalized probability density functions of the fluid velocity increments, our results indicate that extreme values in the velocity increments become more probable with decreasing surfactant concentration for cases with smaller bubbles and low gas void fraction, while the effect of the surfactant is much weaker for cases with larger bubble and higher void fractions.