Effect of the Pore Geometry on the Driving Pressure across a Bubble Penetrating a Single Pore

Abstract

The passage of a bubble and the required energy for its motion through a confining pore can potentially be affected by the surface roughness and geometry of the pore. The motion of an isolated bubble passing through four different pore geometries (three circular pores, a smooth pore and 2 with different roughness, and a sharp triangular pore) is investigated. The shape of the deformed bubble passing these geometries was evaluated to determine the pressure drop across the bubble and hence the driving force to cause motion. The results of investigating the motion of the bubbles and the change in the pressure and velocity of the bubbles showed that the pore shape and surface roughness have a significant effect on the passage of the isolated phase. The motion of the bubble entering the entrance of the circular pores was similar for all circular cases. On exiting, however, a clear difference between the cases due to the presence of the peaks of the roughness was observed. These results indicate that, in addition to the critical pressure at the entrance of the pore, extra resistance will be introduced due to bubble phase pinning at the exit caused by roughness of the pore.

Keywords

• PIV
• laplace pressure
• critical pressure
• phase trapping
• phase pinning
• confined geometry