Bubble breakage and aggregation characteristics in a vortex pump under bubble inflow

Abstract

The behaviors of bubbles in a vortex pump play a crucial role in its performance when handling gas–liquid flows. However, not much research has been done on the distribution of the gas–liquid phases and the characteristics of bubble breakage and aggregation in vortex pumps. This lack of understanding hinders the improvement of pump performance in gas–liquid flow transport. This study aims to investigate the bubble characteristics in a vortex pump using the population balance model, focusing on the variation of bubble size and the influence of the inlet gas volume fraction (IGVF) on bubble breakage and aggregation. The results show that as the IGVF increases, the gas volume fraction in the impeller becomes larger than that in the bladeless chamber. The majority of bubbles in the impeller are concentrated near the hub, while they also remain in the circulating-flow zone of the bladeless chamber. Under low IGVF conditions, the average diameter of bubbles decreases from the pump inlet to the outlet. The bladeless chamber has a larger average bubble diameter and a higher percentage of large bubbles compared to other parts of the pump. Moreover, the bubble number density at the pump outlet increases with the IGVF, indicating the production of more bubbles, while the increase in IGVF also results in an increase in the percentage of large bubbles. The study also discusses the mechanism of bubble breakage and aggregation in vortex pumps. It suggests that the effective breakage frequency and effective aggregation frequency are responsible for bubble breakage and aggregation in the vortex pump. The gas volume fraction and turbulent dissipation rate are identified as important parameters affecting the effective breakage and aggregation frequency. These findings provide new insights into understanding the characteristics of bubble breakage and aggregation in vortex pumps.