Coalescence Dynamics of Particle-Laden Bubbles

Interfacial Behavior of Particle-Laden Bubbles under Asymmetric Shear Flow

The behavior of moving bubbles has mostly been studied in an axisymmetric flow field. To extend the knowledge to practical conditions, we investigate the interfacial and hydrodynamic properties of bubbles under asymmetric shear forces. Experiments are performed with a buoyant bubble at the tip of a capillary placed in a defined shear flow in the presence of surfactants, nanoparticles, and glass beads. The response of the interface to the surrounding asymmetric flow is measured under successive reduction of the surface area. Profile analysis tensiometry is utilized to investigate the dynamic surface tension and the surface rheology of the surfactant- and nanoparticle-laden interfaces. Microscopic particle image and tracking velocimetry are used to study the bulk flow and the interfacial mobility of the buoyant bubble. According to our results, the rotational component of the shear flow provokes an interfacial flow, which redistributes the adsorbed surfactants and particles at the interface. In the presence of NPSCs, a contiguous network of particles forms at the interface through densification of surface structures. We show that this interconnected nanoparticle network eventually stops the interfacial flow and decreases the mobility of the glass beads at the interface. The immobilization of the interface is characterized by a dimensionless number, defined as the ratio of the interfacial elasticity to bulk shear forces. This number provides an estimate of the interfacial forces required to impose interfacial immobility at a defined flow field. Our findings can serve as a basis to formulate boundary conditions for refined modeling and to predict the hydrodynamics of bubbles and droplets.

The role of microparticles on the shape and surface tension of static bubbles

HYPOTHESIS

Surface tension is a critical parameter in bubbles and foams, yet it is difficult to assess when microparticles are attached at the interface. By considering the interaction force between an air-liquid interface and microparticles, modified equations for sessile bubble tensiometry can be derived to determine the surface tension and shape of static microparticle-laden bubbles.

EXPERIMENTS

A modified sessile bubble method, in which the forces between microparticles and the air-liquid interface are considered, was developed and used to analyse the surface tension of bubbles fully coated by a monolayer of silica microparticles of different sizes. The results are compared to those obtained using classical sessile bubble tensiometry. The new method is also used to investigate the contours of particle-laden bubbles of varying particle radius and contact angle.

FINDINGS

While the classical sessile bubble method overestimates the surface tension, results obtained using the modified sessile bubble method show that the surface tension of static microparticle-laden bubbles remains the same as that of uncoated bubbles, with no dependency on the particle size. The discrepancy is due to the fact that microparticles attached to the air-liquid interface deform a bubble in a similar way that changes in surface tension do for uncoated bubbles.

The pinch-off dynamics of bubbles coated by microparticles

HYPOTHESIS

While the pinch-off dynamics of bubbles is known to be influenced by changes in surface tension, previous studies have only assessed changes due to liquid properties or surfactant effects at the air-liquid interface but not due to the presence of particles. The current study proposes that particles at the air-liquid interface play an important role in changing the surface tension and thus the pinch-off dynamics of particle-laden bubbles.

EXPERIMENTS

High-speed photography was used to study the pinch-off dynamics of air bubbles coated by a monolayer of silica microparticles. The influence of bubble surface coverage and particle size classes on the bubble pinch-off dynamics were explored.

FINDINGS

We identify that although the scaling exponent of the power law that governs the pinch-off of coated and uncoated bubbles is the same, the pinch-off dynamics is distinctly different when particles are present at the air-liquid interface due to a decrease in surface tension with time in the neck region. We suggest that the surface pressure generated by particle interaction reduces the pinch-off speed by reducing the apparent surface tension. We observe that the apparent surface tension is dependent on particle size but not on the percentage of bubble surface coated by particles.