Vapor Bubble Deformation and Collapse near Free Surface

Vapor bubbles are widely concerned in many industrial applications. The deformation and collapse of a vapor bubble near a free surface after being heated and raised from the bottom wall are investigated in this paper. On the basis of smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) and the van der Waals (VDW) equation of state, a numerical model of fluid dynamics and phase change was developed. The effects of fluid dynamics were considered, and the phase change of evaporation and condensation between liquid and vapor were discussed. Quantitative and qualitative comparisons between our numerical model and the experimental results were made. After verification, the numerical simulation of bubbles with the effects of the shear viscosity η_s and the heating distance L were taken into account. The regularity of the effect of the local Reynolds number (Re) and the Ohnesorge number (Oh) on the deformation of vapor bubbles is summarized through a further analysis of several cases, which can be summarized into four major patterns as follows: umbrella, semi-crescent, spheroid, and jet. The results show that the Re number has a great influence on the bubble deformation of near-wall bubbles. For Re > 1.5 × 10² and Oh < 3 × 10⁻⁴, the shape of the bubble is umbrella; for Re < 5 × 10⁰ and Oh > 10⁻³, the bubble is spheroidal; and for 5 × 10⁰ < Re < 1.5 × 10², 3 × 10⁻⁴ < Oh < 10⁻³, the bubble is semi-crescent. For liquid-surface bubbles, the Re number effect is small, and when Oh > 5 × 10⁻³, the shape of the bubble is jet all the time; there is no obvious difference in the bubble deformation, but the jet state is more obvious as the Re decreases. Finally, the dynamic and energy mechanisms behind each mode are discussed. The bubble diameter, bubble symmetry coefficient, and rising velocity were analyzed during their whole processes of bubble growth and collapse.