Numerical simulation of a rising bubble using volume of fluid method (VOF)

The rise and deformation of bubbles and droplets in a viscous fluid is not only a very common process in many industrial applications, but also a fundamental problem inphysics of fluids which has been extensively investigated so far. Computational fluid dynamics as a powerful tool can improve physical understanding of these problems. Inthis research, Navicr-Stokes equations coupled with the volume of fluid (VOF) method with the surface tension force is applied to simulate the rising bubble test case. Thefluid flow is considered to be incompressible, unsteady and two-dimensional. The surface tension force is modeled using continuum surface stress (CS S) model. The numerical results of the present work include the position of rising bubble, the rise velocity, and bubble shape are in good agreement with the simulation results obtained byusing the level set method which proves the ability of the VOF method to simulate the gravity driven flows.

Keywords:

Rising bubble. VOF method. Surface tension , Numerical simulations