Review of potential flow solutions for velocity and shape of long isolated bubbles in vertical pipes

Abstract The motion of elongated gas bubbles in vertical pipes has been studied extensively over the past century. A number of empirical and numerical correlations have emerged out of this curiosity; amongst them, analytical solutions have been proposed. A review of the major results and resolution methods based on a potential flow theory approach is presented in this article. The governing equations of a single elongated gas bubble rising in a stagnant or moving liquid are given in the potential flow formalism. Two different resolution methods (the power series method and the total derivative method) are studied in detail. The results (velocity and shape) are investigated with respect to the surface tension effect. The use of a new multi-objective solver coupled with the total derivative method improves the research of solutions and demonstrates its validity for determining the bubble velocity. This review aims to highlight the power of analytical tools, resolution methods and their associated limitations behind often well-known and wide-spread results in the literature.