Experimental study on a zigzagging bubble using tomographic particle image velocimetry with shadow image reconstruction

For decades, it has been proven by numerous experiments and simulations that a single bubble freely rises in an unstable path and shape in a surface tension force dominant regime. Using time-resolved tomographic particle image velocimetry combined with three-dimensional shadow image reconstruction, the present study experimentally provides a full three-dimensional diagnosis of the shape and wake structures of a zigzagging bubble. An ellipsoidal bubble with an equivalent diameter of d(eq) = 5.47 mm freely rising in stagnant water is investigated at a terminal Reynolds number of 1390 with a zigzag path. The results show a typical double-threaded vortex structure generated during the initial ascending stage. In the regular zigzagging stage, a four-ring mode of vortex generation is observed, which is composed of alternatively discharged and induced hairpin vortices. Thanks to the volumetric measurement, the shedding or inducing mechanism of complicated wake structures is clearly achieved. We speculate that the secondary shape oscillation of the bubble is excited by the shedding of the primary hairpin vortex. Frequencies of the bubble trajectory, variation of velocity, and bubble shape oscillation are analyzed in detail. Their associated harmonics are classified to indicate the interactions between the bubble and the wakes.