Céline Gabillet

Open ocean regimes of relative dispersion

As two fluid particles separate in time, the entire spectrum of eddy motions is being sampled from the smallest to the largest scales. In large-scale geophysical systems for which the Earth rotation is important, it has been conjectured that the relative diffusivity should vary respectively as D2 and D4/3 for distances respectively smaller and larger than a well-defined forcing scale of the order of the internal Rossby radius (with D the r.m.s. separation distance). Particle paths data from a mid-latitude float experiment in the central part of the North Atlantic appear to support these statements partly: two particles initially separated by a few km within two distinct clusters west and east of the mid-Atlantic ridge, statistically dispersed following a Richardson regime (D2∼t3 asymptotically) for r.m.s. separation distances between 40 and 300 km, in agreement with a D4/3 law. At early times, and for smaller separation distances, an exponential growth, in agreement with a D2 law, was briefly observed but only for the eastern cluster (with an e-folding time around 6 days). After a few months or separation distances greater than 300 km, the relative dispersion slowed down naturally to the Taylor absolute dispersion regime.

Two-phase Couette–Taylor flow: Arrangement of the dispersed phase and effects on the flow structures

This study investigates the mutual interactions between a continuous and a dispersed phase (noncondensable or condensable) in the well-known Couette–Taylor flow between two concentric cylinders at low Reynolds numbers, where the outer cylinder is immobilized. In this experiment, the turbulent structures take place progressively. The noncondensable dispersed phase (air) is introduced either by ventilation, generated by agitation of a free surface situated at the top of the gap between the two cylinders. The condensable dispersed phase is generated by cavitation due to a drop in pressure. Comparisons are made between the single phase flow patterns and those observed in ventilated or cavitating flow. Two particular arrangements of the dispersed phase are experimentally evident, according to the Reynolds number of the flow. For low Reynolds numbers, bubbles are trapped in the core of the Taylor cells, whereas they migrate to the outflow regions near the inner cylinder for higher Reynolds numbers. Assessment of the forces applied to the bubbles and computation of their equilibrium position can act as a base in describing the bubble capture. When bubbles are located near the wall in the outflow region, it is found that the three first instabilities are strongly influenced by the dispersed phase. The cavitating flow is also characterized by an earlier appearance of the third instability.

Numerical simulation of bubble dispersion in turbulent Taylor-Couette flow

We investigate bubble dispersion in turbulent Taylor-Couette flow. The aim of this study is to describe the main mechanisms yielding preferential bubble accumulation in near-wall structures of the flow. We first proceed to direct numerical simulation of Taylor-Couette flows for three different geometrical configurations (three radius ratios η = R 1/R 2: η = 0.5, η = 0.72, and η = 0.91 with the outer cylinder at rest) and Reynolds numbers corresponding to turbulent regime ranging from 3000 to 8000. The statistics of the flow are discussed using two different averaging procedures that permit to characterize the mean azimuthal velocity, the Taylor vortices contribution and the small-scale turbulent fluctuations. The simulations are compared and validated with experimental and numerical data from literature. The second part of this study is devoted to bubble dispersion. Bubble accumulation is analyzed by comparing the dispersion obtained with the full turbulent flow field to bubble dispersion occurring at lower Reynolds numbers in previous works. Several patterns of preferential accumulation of bubbles have been observed depending on bubble size and the effect of gravity. For the smaller size considered, bubbles disperse homogeneously throughout the gap, while for the larger size they accumulate along the inner wall for the large gap width (η = 0.5). Varying the intensity of buoyancy yields complex evolution of the bubble spatial distribution. For low gravity effect, bubble entrapment is strong leading to accumulation along the inner wall in outflow regions (streaks of low wall shear stress). When buoyancy effect dominates on vortex trapping, bubbles rise through the vortices, while spiral patterns stretched along the inner cylinder are clearly identified. Force balance is analyzed to identify dominating forces leading to this accumulation and accumulation patterns are compared with previous experiments.

Analysis of the flow pattern modifications in a bubbly Couette-Taylor flow

The aim of this Brief Communication is to discuss the bubble effect on the Couette-Taylor flow patterns in the transition from laminar to turbulent flow, especially in the weakly turbulent regime. It is shown that bubble location and local void fractions both in the vortices cores and in the near wall regions directly influence the axial wavelength. Bubbles trapped in the vortices tend to increase the vorticity and reduce the axial diffusivity. Bubbles near the wall contribute to “shear induced” turbulence depending on the void fraction gradient near the wall and the bubble size.

Bubble Effect on the Structures of Weakly Turbulent Couette Taylor Flow

In industrial applications, rotating flows have been recognized to enhance mixing and transfer properties. Moreover, bubbly flows are also used to improve transfers. Therefore, it is interesting to study the effects of the dispersed phase on the structure of a Couette Taylor flow. Experiments are conducted for the quasi-periodic (Ta=780) and the weakly turbulent (Ta= 1000) flow regimes. Bubbles (0.035 times as small as the gap) are generated by agitation of the upper free surface (ventilated flow). Larger bubbles (0.15 times as small as the gap) are generated by injection at the bottom of the apparatus and by applying a pressure drop (gaseous-cavitating flow). Void fraction, bubble size, and velocity, as well as axial and azimuthal velocity components of the liquid are investigated. The bubble location in the gap clearly depends on the bubble size. For α>0.1%, there is evidence of bubble-induced modifications of axial transfers and wall shear stress, the observed trends being different according to the bubble location in the gap.

Effect of bubble’s arrangement on the viscous torque in bubbly Taylor-Couette flow

An experimental investigation of the interactions between bubbles, coherent motion, and viscous drag in a Taylor-Couette flow with the outer cylinder at rest is presented. The cylinder radii ratio η is 0.91. Bubbles are injected inside the gap through a needle at the bottom of the apparatus. Different bubbles sizes are investigated (ratio between the bubble diameter and the gap width ranges from 0.05 to 0.125) for very small void fraction (α ≤ 0.23%). Different flow regimes are studied corresponding to Reynolds number Re based on the gap width and velocity of the inner cylinder, ranging from 6 × 102 to 2 × 104. Regarding these Re values, Taylor vortices are persistent leading to an axial periodicity of the flow. A detailed characterization of the vortices is performed for the single-phase flow. The experiment also develops bubbles tracking in a meridian plane and viscous torque of the inner cylinder measurements. The findings of this study show evidence of the link between bubbles localisation, Taylor vortices, and viscous torque modifications. We also highlight two regimes of viscous torque modification and various types of bubbles arrangements, depending on their size and on the Reynolds number. Bubbles can have a sliding and wavering motion near the inner cylinder and be either captured by the Taylor vortices or by the outflow areas near the inner cylinder. For small buoyancy effect, bubbles are trapped, leading to an increase of the viscous torque. When buoyancy induced bubbles motion is increased by comparison to the coherent motion of the liquid, a decrease in the viscous torque is rather observed. The type of bubble arrangement is parameterized by the two dimensionless parameters C and H introduced by Climent et al. [“Preferential accumulation of bubbles in Couette-Taylor flow patterns,” Phys. Fluids 19, 083301 (2007)]. Phase diagrams summarizing the various types of bubbles arrangements, viscous torque modifications, and axial wavelength evolution are built.

Numerical study of hydrodynamic impact on bubbly water

The phenomenon of slamming on a bubbly liquid has many occurrences in marine and costal engineering. However, experimental or numerical data on the effect of the presence of gas bubbles within the liquid on the impact loads are scarce and the related physical mechanisms are poorly understood. The aim of the present paper is to study numerically the relationship between the void volume fraction and the impact loads. For that purpose, numerical simulations of the impact of a cone on bubbly water have been performed using the finite element code ABAQUS/Explicit. The present results show the diminution of the impact loads with the increase of the void fraction. This effect appears to be related to the high compressibility of the liquid-gas mixture.© 2015 ASME