Bubble Plume Behavior and Turbulence Characteristics of Gas–Liquid Phase in Power-Law Fluids

The turbulent characteristics of bubble plumes in power-law fluids are studied by experiments and numerical simulations. The effects of liquid phase rheological properties and superficial gas velocity on liquid phase velocity, shear stress, turbulent kinetic energy, turbulent scale, and gas holdup of the bubble plume are investigated. The velocity, shear stress, and turbulent kinetic energy of the liquid phase are distributed in a circular pattern during the generation stage, forming stage, and free-surface interaction stage of the bubble plume. The average shear stress and average turbulence kinetic energy that decomposed turbulent scales in CMC aqueous solution are 31–50 times and 1.4–2 times than that in tap water environment. The gas holdup in the flow field decreases with the increase of concentration of liquid phase and increases with the increase of superficial gas velocity. The flow pattern of the bubble plume is significantly affected by the superficial gas velocity and the rheological properties of the liquid phase that affect the transfer of mass and momentum between phases.