A lattice Boltzmann modeling of the bubble velocity discontinuity (BVD) in shear-thinning viscoelastic fluids

The bubble velocity discontinuity (BVD), when single bubble rising in shear-thinning viscoelastic fluids, is studied numerically. Our three-dimensional numerical scheme employs a phase-field lattice Boltzmann method together with a lattice Boltzmann advection-diffusion scheme, the former to model the macroscopic hydrodynamic equations for multiphase fluids, and the latter to describe the polymer dynamics modeled by the exponential Phan–Thien–Tanner (ePTT) constitutive model. An adaptive mesh refinement technique is implemented to reduce computational cost. The multiphase solver is validated by simulating the buoyant rise of single bubble in a Newtonian fluid. The critical bubble size for the existence of the BVD and the velocity-increasing factor of the BVD are accurately predicted, and the results are consistent with the available experiments. Bubbles of different sizes are characterized as subcritical (smaller than critical size) and supercritical (larger than critical size) according to their transient rising velocity behaviors, and the polymeric stress evolution affecting the local flow pattern and bubble deformation is discussed. Pseudo-supercritical bubbles are observed with transition behaviors in bubble velocity, and their sizes are smaller than the critical value. The formation of bubble cusp and the existence of negative wake are observed for both the pseudo-supercritical and the supercritical bubbles. For the supercritical bubble, the trailing edge cusp and the negative wake arise much earlier. The link between the BVD, the bubble cusp, and the negative wake is discussed, and the mechanism of the BVD is explained.