A criterion for bubble merging in liquid metal: computational and experimental study

An innovative model is presented for merging of bubbles inside a liquid metal. The proposed model is based on forming a thin film (narrow channel) between merging bubbles during growth. Rupturing of the film occurs when an oscillation in velocity and pressure arises inside the channel followed by merging of the bubbles. The proposed model based on lattice Boltzmann Method is capable of simulating merging bubbles in micro, meso, and macro-scales with no limitation on the number of bubbles. Experimental studies reveal a good consistency between modeling results and real conditions.