Three-dimensional experimental investigation of the shape and dynamics of a rising bubble in stagnant water with particle tracking velocimetry

The Particle Tracking Velocimetry technique has been used for a three-dimensional, transient, experimental study of a single bubble dynamics in a restricted medium. The three-dimensional velocity field was reconstructed via stereoscopic matching of two-dimensional images. A hybrid tracking technique has been used to determine the flow around a bubble. The development of the Shadow Particle Image Velocimetry allowed studying the bubble shape and rotation. An accurate estimate of the bubble dimensions, orientation, trajectory, and velocity and acceleration of a bubble rising in water, was obtained.;The flow around and within the wake of the bubble was determined from ensemble averaging instantaneous velocity fields. The ensemble average operation was performed by considering a conditional sampling technique. The conditional ensemble averaging was performed for specified bubble trajectories. It was found that bubbles rising close to the wall generate more turbulence, and the disturbances induced in the liquid reach further downstream, when compared to bubbles rising along the pipe core.;The bubble Reynolds number was in the range from 350 to 700. Regarding the bubble motion, it was found that the inclusion of the disturbed flow field in the bubble motion equation generates a scattering of the data for the drag and lift coefficients. The wall influence on these coefficients was introduced through the velocities and accelerations of the liquid and the bubble. The results indicate that the presence of the seed particles in the liquid have an influence on the bubble velocity and bubble shape. The instantaneous drag coefficient did not delineate a trend with respect to the rotation parameter; however, it shows a behavior similar to the standard drag curve as function of the Reynolds number. The average drag coefficient values are 0.90 and 0.98 for the bubble trajectories along the pipe core and close to the pipe wall, respectively. No trend for the instantaneous lift coefficient values as a function of the Reynolds number and rotation parameter was observed. The average lift coefficient for the bubble trajectories rising along the pipe center and close to the pipe wall are of values of 0.37 and 0.44, respectively.