An experimental study of bubble deformation in viscous liquids in simple shear flow

An experimental study of the deformation of gas bubbles in viscous Newtonian liquids subjected to simple shear flow has been undertaken as a first step toward understanding bubble dynamics in polymer processing. Measurements of the shape, interfacial area, and volume of air bubbles suspended in the gap between two coaxial, counterrotating cylinders are presented and discussed as function of capillary number. At high capillary numbers (high deformations), the experiments confirm the theoretical model of Hinch and Acrivos.