Improvement of a Microbubble Generator's Performance Via Reliance on Fluid Dynamics Characteristics

Abstract

In present research, improvement of a microbubble generator's performance via reliance on fluid dynamics characteristics is studied numerically, and then some experiments are executed. In an elementary cylindrical microbubble generator, water flow enters the device via six diagonal nozzles, and passes a rotational path around a central motionless hub. This flow breaks the big bubbles entering the device by gas injection from air nozzles. The high-intensity turbulence and shear flow in this device is the cause of the air bubble breaking process. These small bubbles can be used to reduce frictional drag on the contact surface of moving solid bodies in water flow. To improve the operation of the apparatus, some suggested geometrical shapes were investigated numerically and were optimized based on the bubbles' effective breaking-up parameters. The experimental results illustrated good performance of the recent apparatus for generating smaller bubbles.