Characterization of Bubbly Flow Systems: A Review

Abstract

Bubbly flows occur frequently in natural systems and are also used for different applications in energy-producing and chemical and petroleum industries. The characterization of bubbles is important in many chemical and petrochemical engineering applications. In such applications, the concentration, morphology and spatial distribution of bubbles determines the pressure drop and wall heat transfer. Past studies have reported different techniques for the characterization of these bubbles. Broadly, these can be characterized into two -intrusive and non-intrusive. The current paper presents a detailed review on both the intrusive and non-intrusive techniques which have been used for the characterization of the gas-liquid systems or gas-liquid-solid systems in general, and bubbly flows in particular.