The
collision of a bubble at liquid–liquid, solid–liquid–liquid,
and gas–liquid–liquid interfaces, the latter two of
which are referred to as compound interfaces, is modeled to predict
the bubble’s velocity profile and the pressure buildup and
drainage rate of the film(s) formed at impact. A force balance approach,
previously outlined for bubble collisions at solid and free surfaces,
is employed, which takes into account four forces acting on the bubble:
buoyancy, drag, inertia of the surrounding liquid through an added
mass force, and a film force resulting from the pressure buildup in
the liquid film formed between the bubble and the interface upon impact.
The augmented Young–Laplace equation is applied to define the
pressure buildup in the film(s), while lubrication theory is employed
to define the film drainage rate(s) through the use of the Stokes–Reynolds
equation. This is the first time this modeling technique has been
implemented for bubble collisions with these interface types as all
previous models have relied only on grid-based simulations. The models
were validated through experiments conducted here with water and silicone
oils of various viscosities and from data found in literature. A reasonable
agreement is observed between the theoretical and experimental velocity
profiles found for these liquid combinations under varying conditions
of impact velocity and top film thickness. The spatiotemporal film
thickness and pressure profile evolution, features not yet able to
be captured through experiment, are also presented and discussed.