Chaotic bubbling and nonstagnant foams

Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin Soft Matter Phys. 2007 Jun;75(6 Pt 2):066216. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevE.75.066216. Epub 2007 Jun 27.

Abstract

We present an experimental investigation of the agglomeration of bubbles obtained from a nozzle working in different bubbling regimes. This experiment consists of a continuous production of bubbles from a nozzle at the bottom of a liquid column, and these bubbles create a two-dimensional (2D) foam (or a bubble raft) at the top of this column. The bubbles can assemble in various dynamically stable arrangement, forming different kinds of foams in a liquid mixture of water and glycerol, with the effect that the bubble formation regimes influence the foam obtained from this agglomeration of bubbles. The average number of bubbles in the foam is related to the bubble formation frequency and the bubble mean lifetime. The periodic bubbling can generate regular or irregular foam, while a chaotic bubbling only generates irregular foam.