Analysis of diffusion-induced bubble growth in viscoelastic liquids (Q1297526)

A transport model is developed for the diffusion-induced bubble growth and collapse, assuming that the bubble is surrounded by a liquid of infinite extent. The liquid consists of two components: one is a volatile species from which the bubble is composed, and the other is polymeric. The system is assumed to be isothermal and without chemical reactions, the mass diffusion is governed by Fick law, the velocity field of surrounding liquid is radial, and the liquid is incompressible with rheological properties independent of concentration. First, the equations governing the diffusion-induced growth and collapse are given in dimensionless form, and then the nonlinear viscoelasticity of surrounding liquid is described by Phan-Thien-Tanner model. Using IDS and TBL approximations, the authors investigate the influence of nonlinear viscoelasticity on the bubble growth. The bubble growth dynamics is presented for various models.