Modeling of bubble flow distribution in crystal suspended non-Newtonian fluids

This paper investigates a computational study of air bubbles rising in massecuite equivalent non-Newtonian crystal suspensions. Bubble rise motion inside the stagnant liquid of 0.05% xanthan gum crystal suspension was investigated and modelled using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model to gain an insight into the bubble flow distribution. CFD code FLUENT was used for numerical simulation and bubble rise characteristics were computed through a Volume of Fluid (VOF) model. The influences of the Reynolds number (Re) along with other dimensionless groups such the Weber number (We ), and the Eötvös number (Eo) on bubble velocity and bubble trajectory are discussed. The effects of the vortices on bubble velocity distribution are analyzed. The simulated results of the bubble flow contours were validated by the experimental results. The model developed is capable of predicting the entire flow characteristics of different sizes of bubble inside the liquid column.