Flow Regimes and Transition Criteria during Passage of Bubbles through a Liquid–Liquid Interface

The passage of a single bubble or a stream of bubbles through a liquid-liquid interface is a highly dynamic process that can result in a number of different outcomes. Previous studies focused primarily on a single bubble and single flow regime, and very few investigations have considered bubble streams. In the present work, six different liquid combinations made up of water, ethanol, a perfluorocarbon liquid, PP1, and one of three different viscosity silicone oils are tested with air bubbles from 2 to 6 mm in diameter rising between 5 and 55 cm/s. Both single bubbles and bubble streams varying in frequency from 5 to 40 bubbles/s are tested. High-speed imaging is used to capture and classify the flow regimes associated with each flow type. Four different flow regimes are identified for single-bubble passage, and six are found for bubble stream passage. On the basis of theoretical considerations, nondimensional numbers are developed for characterizing the flow regimes and maps are generated that distinguish them and define flow regime transitions.