A novel
analytical tool incorporating a differential pressure transducer
(DPT) to measure bubble frequency and size in a simple, noninvasive,
nonhazardous, and nonoptical-based technique was presented and validated.
Bubbles measured in de-ionized water by an upward facing quartz nozzle
and helium gas flow rates up to 50 mL min–1 ranged
from 3.75 to 4.29 mm, with bubble size deviations of 3–8% from
the literature correlations considered. The DPT technique was applied
to two high-temperature systems, molten tin and molten LiCl–KCl
(59–41 mol % LiCl–KCl), over 400–700 °C
using a u-tube quartz injector. For a 50 mm nozzle tip submersion
depth in molten tin at 600 °C, preheating stages and bubble frequency
measurements were used to demonstrate that the inlet gas temperature
at the point of bubble formation, typically assumed at the temperature
of the melt, was not in equilibrium and additional gas preheating
was required. Calculated surface areas from the bubble diameters obtained
from literature correlations and the measured DPT results in molten
tin at 600 °C showed a maximum deviation from literature correlations
of 7.57%. This highlights the accuracy of the DPT applied across a
wide range of fluid properties and temperature ranges and its applicability
for bubble characterization in applications concerning the kinetics
of gas bubble–liquid reactions or mass transfer at the bubble–liquid
interface.