Simulation of Rising Bubble Dynamics

Abstract

A direct numerical simulation of the rising of an initially quiescent air bubble in water without flow has been carried out. For comparison with the experiment, a complicated initial shape of the bubble, corresponding to the experimental one, was taken. The changes in the shape of the bubble during rising, obtained as the result of numerical simulation, are close to the experimental deformations of the bubble. For comparison with the results of numerical simulations available in the literature, we simulated rising bubble, which initially had a spherical shape. It was found that during rising, the shape of the bubble is first close to elliptical and oscillates, but then it becomes more complicated – a “tail” appears in the lower part of the bubble. This regime of the rising bubble dynamics is confirmed by the results of numerical simulation published in the literature.