Bubble behavior in a vertical Taylor-Couette flow

Abstract

Bubble distributions organized in a vertical Taylor-Couette flow are experimentally investigated. Modification of shear stress due to bubbles is measured with a torque sensor installed on the rotating inner cylinder. The wall shear stress decreases as bubbles are injected in all the tested range of Re from 600 to 4500. The drag reduction ratio per void fraction measured in the present experiment, which indicates net gain of the drag reduction, has been evaluated. The gain was more than unity for Re < 2000 while it descends negative for Re > 4000. The maximum gain achieved was around 10 at Re = 600, at which point the bubbles dispersed widely on the inner cylinder surface and effectively restrict momentum exchange of fluid between the two walls. The expansion of Taylor vortices in the vertical direction by the presence of bubbles was confirmed by flow visualization including particle tracking velocimetry. Such bubble behaviours interacting with Taylor vortices are discussed in detail in this paper. © 2005 IOP Publishing Ltd.