Bubble Motion in a Converging–Diverging Channel

Abstract

The migration of a bubble inside a two-dimensional converging–diverging channel is investigated numerically. A parametric study is conducted to investigate the effects of the Reynolds and Weber numbers and the amplitude of the converging–diverging channel. It is found that increasing the Reynolds number and the amplitude of the channel increases the oscillation of the bubble and promotes the migration of the bubble toward one of the channel wall. The bubble undergoes oblate–prolate deformation periodically at the early times, which becomes chaotic at the later times. This phenomenon is a culmination of the bubble path instability as well as the Segré–Silberberg effect.