The aim of the present study is to reveal characteristics of a rising bubble in quiescent mineral oil. Three air-injection nozzles with outlet diameters of 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0 mm were selected. Consecutively rising bubbles were produced as air was injected into mineral oil. Bubble visualization was implemented using the high-speed photography technique. Bubble images captured were processed using an in-house code to calculate the equivalent bubble diameter and the bubble velocity. The computational fluid dynamics technique was used to simulate flows around the rising bubble. The bubble trajectory, the bubble aspect ratio, and the bubble velocity were compared among the three nozzles. Correlations between nondimensional parameters were constructed. The results show that the bubble motion in mineral oil is stabilized in comparison with that in deionized water. Spherical and ellipsoidal shapes are prevalent.The bubble trajectory is rectilinear, which is independent of the nozzle outlet diameter. After the bubble separates from the nozzle, the equilibrium state is promptly attained. Smooth bubble evolution is ascribed to suppressed wake vortices immediately downstream of the bubble. Small nozzle outlet diameter is responsible for high aspect ratio but small Eötvös number. Values of the Weber number are much smaller than those associated with deionized water.The drag coefficient descends continuously with increasing Reynolds number (Re); the correspondence between the drag coefficient and Re is explicitly sensitive to the nozzle outlet diameter.
K E Y W O R D Sbubble, bubble aspect ratio, bubble trajectory, drag coefficient, mineral oil, visualization