Single bubble breakup in the flow field induced by a horizontal jet—The numerical simulation

Abstract Bubble breakup is a common in the multiphase flow, and the breakup result will influence the performance of the gas–liquid reactor, in which liquid jetting is a typical way in breaking the bubble. In present work, based on the comparison with the experimental results, large eddy simulation and volume of fluid method are coupled to simulate processes of the deformation and breakup of a single bubble in the liquid jet flow. The trajectory of mother bubble, number of daughter bubbles, variation of bubble surface area, and the forces acting on the bubble surface were analyzed. It was found that the shear force at the bubble neck was significantly larger compared with that in the stage of undeformed, and the critical condition for bubble breakup was when the total turbulent pressure on bubble surface was greater than the surface force of bubble. Based on the velocity difference on the upstream and downstream of the bubble, a modified critical Weber number was proposed for a better description of the breakup condition of the single bubble in the liquid jet flow.