Numerical simulation of the interaction between a vortex ring and a bubble plume

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to provide discussions of a numerical method for bubbly flows and the interaction between a vortex ring and a bubble plume. Design/methodology/approach Small bubbles are released into quiescent water from a cylinder tip. They rise under the buoyant force, forming a plume. A vortex ring is launched vertically upward into the bubble plume. The interactions between the vortex ring and the bubble plume are numerically simulated using a semi-Lagrangian–Lagrangian approach composed of a vortex-in-cell method for the fluid phase and a Lagrangian description of the gas phase. Findings A vortex ring can transport the bubbles surrounding it over a distance significantly depending on the correlative initial position between the bubbles and the core center. The motion of some bubbles is nearly periodic and gradually extinguishes with time. These bubble trajectories are similar to two-dimensional-helix shapes. The vortex is fragmented into multiple regions with high values of Q, the second invariant of velocity gradient tensor, settling at these regional centers. The entrained bubbles excite a growth rate of the vortex ring's azimuthal instability with a formation of the second- and third-harmonic oscillations of modes of 16 and 24, respectively. Originality/value A semi-Lagrangian–Lagrangian approach is applied to simulate the interactions between a vortex ring and a bubble plume. The simulations provide the detail features of the interactions.