Liquid Taylor Bubbles Rising in a Vertical Column of a Heavier Liquid: An Approximate Analysis

Abstract

It has been noted that a volume of lighter liquid when injected into a stationary column of a heavier liquid, it rises up as a simple elongated Taylor bubble. In the present study, experimental and theoretical analyses have been performed to understand the rise of liquid Taylor bubbles. The experiments have been performed with different liquid pairs with their viscosities ranging from 0.71mPas to 1.75mPas and conduit sizes ranging from 0.012 m to 0.0461 m. The bubble shape has been predicted using a potential flow analysis and validated from photographic measurements. This analysis has been further modified to predict the rise velocity. The modified analysis accounts for the density difference between the two liquids, viscosity effects of the primary liquid, and interfacial tension of two fluids. A semi-empirical equation has been developed, which gives satisfactory results for most of the cases.