Dynamics of spherical bubble growth

A model for the dynamics of spherical bubble growth in a quiescent viscous liquid is presented. The gas inside the bubble is a van der Waals fluid, and the viscous liquid outside the bubble is a Flory-Hugins solvent-polymer solution. The growth of the bubble in the viscous liquid is assumed to be controlled by momentum, heat and mass transfer. Using the integral method, the transport equations were transformed into ordinary differential equations, which were numerically solved. An analytical criterion of when it is justified to make the usual isothermal assumption is also derived. The relevance of this work to the processes of polymer melt devolatilization and the production of foamed plastics is discussed.