Dynamic behavior of a single bubble between the free surface and rigid wall

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to apply high-speed photography and schlieren method to investigate the bubble dynamics between the free surface and a rigid wall. The temporal evolution of the bubble shape and the free surface motion are recorded by two synchronous high-speed cameras. Experiments are carried out for a single bubble generated at various normalized stand-off distances from bubble center to the free surface and to the rigid wall. The results show that (1) three distinctive patterns are identified with the morphology of the bubble and free surface, namely single toroidal bubble without spike (STB), single toroidal bubble with a spike (STBS) and double toroidal bubbles with a spike (DTBS). (2) The dynamic characteristics of the bubble at collapse and rebound stage vary evidently at different patterns, including the bubble shape variations and free surface motion. In detail, the schlieren images show the formation and propagation of shock waves, which explains the radiative process of bubble collapse energy. (3) Qualitative comparisons are carried out for the bubble and free surface at the same pattern. And quantitative analyses are conducted for the jet velocity, bubble collapse position, bubble collapse time and spike height, etc. for different values of bubble-rigid wall distance.

Keywords: Bubble dynamics; Free surface; Rigid wall; Schlieren method; Shock wave.