An Optical Method for Determining Bubble Size Distributions—Part I:Theory

Abstract

A new optical technique is developed to determine the size distribution of bubbles in a two-phase flow. Implementation involves passing a narrow beam of light through the bubbly flow and monitoring the transmitted light intensity. The basic units of data are the rate at which each bubble blocks off the beam and the duration of blockage. Adding the hypothesis that the distance of closest approach between a bubble’s center and the beam axis is randomly distributed, a statistical analysis yields the bubble size distribution.