The motion of large bubbles in horizontal channels

Abstract

An experimental investigation of a large long air bubble moving into stationary water in a horizontal channel of rectangular cross-section is presented and three well-defined flow régimes for the water discharged beneath the bubble are described. The influence of surface tension on the bubble velocity is explained using the hypothesis that the radius of curvature of the two-phase interface close to the upper wall does not vary greatly with channel depth and is close to the theoretical value for a channel of such depth that the bubble is just motionless.