Finite element calculations of flow past a spherical bubble rising on the axis of a cylindrical tube (Q1338332)

The velocity and pressure fields of a Newtonian fluid with homogeneous and constant physical properties flowing around a sphere on the axis of a cylindrical tube with no slip, free slip and partial slip at the sphere surface and no slip at the cylinder wall have been calculated by solving the Navier-Stokes equations and the continuity equation using the finite element technique with the penalty function method. Finally, the influence of the presence of a cylindrical wall on the drag force has been determined and a new empirical equation is derived for the wall correction factor for a sphere rising with free slip at its surface at low Reynolds number.