Vortex motion in the near-wake region behind a single gas bubble in a liquid-solid fluidized bed - The pendulum model for wake size prediction

A mechanistic model, denoted as the pendulum model, which interrelates the frequency of vortex shedding and the size of the bubble wake is developed based on secondary motion of a single gas bubble rising in liquids and/or liquid-solid suspensions. In the model, the bubble and its primary wake are regarded as a single semi-rigid body steadily rocking at the vortex shedding frequency. Inherent model parameters, including bubble geometric parameters, the bubble rise velocity and the vortex shedding frequency, are expressed in terms of the bubble size to permit a priori prediction of the wake size. The predicted wake sizes are compared satisfactorily with the experimental data reported in the literature over a wide range of the bubble Reynolds number.