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Published on: July 14, 2017
Growing bubbles in a slightly supersaturated liquid solution
Oscar R Enríquez1, Christian Hummelink, Gert-Wim Bruggert
1Physics of Fluids Group, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Twente, P.O. Box 217, 7500 AE Enschede, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
We have designed and constructed an experimental system to study gas bubble growth in slightly supersaturated liquids. This is achieved by working with carbon dioxide dissolved in water, pressurized at a maximum of 1 MPa and applying a small pressure drop from saturation conditions. Bubbles grow from hydrophobic cavities etched on silicon wafers, which allows us to control their number and position. Hence, the experiment can be used to investigate the interaction among bubbles growing in close proximity when the main mass transfer mechanism is diffusion and there is a limited availability of the dissolved species.
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