Numerical Study of the Influence of the Type of Gas on Drag Reduction by Microbubble Injection

Abstract

In this work, a novel numerical method for studying the influence of gas types on drag reduction by microbubble injection is presented. Aimed at the microbubble drag reduction (MBDR) process for different types of gases, the mass transfer velocity of different types of gases in the gas–liquid phase is defined by writing a user-defined function (UDF), which reflected the influence of gas solubility on the drag reduction rate. An Eulerian multiphase flow model and the Realizable k−ε turbulence model are used for numerical calculation. The population balance model is used to describe the coalescence and breakup phenomena of the microbubble groups. Henry’s theorem is used to calculate the equilibrium concentration of the microbubble mixed flow. The interphase mass transfer rate of the microbubble injection process for different types of gases is studied by using permeation theory. The local mass fraction of the mixed flow is solved by the component transport equation. It is found that the larger the solubility of the gas, the lower the efficiency of MBDR. When the volume flow rate of the same type of gas is the same but the injection speed is different, the larger the solubility of the gas is, the greater the difference in the drag reduction ratio.