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Dynamics of soap bubble inflation

Saini Jatin Rao, Siddhant Jain, and Saptarshi Basu*

  • Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560012, India

  • *Also at Interdisciplinary Centre of Energy Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560012, India; sbasu@iisc.ac.in
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Phys. Rev. Fluids 9, L051602 – Published 28 May, 2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevFluids.9.L051602

Abstract

Bubbles have always captivated our curiosity with their aesthetics and complexities alike. While the act of blowing bubbles is familiar to everyone, the underlying physics of these fleeting spheres often eludes reasoning. In this Letter, we discuss the dynamics of inflating a soap bubble using controlled airflow through a film-coated nozzle. We assess and predict the rate of inflation by varying the source pressure. Visualizing the previously unexplored internal flow reveals that air enters the bubble as a round jet, emerging from the nozzle opening and impinges on the expanding concave bubble interface to form a toroidal vortex. Several scaling laws of the associated vortical flow spanning the entire bubble and the vortex core are reported. The observed dynamics of this bubble-confined vortex ring formation indicate universality in certain aspects when compared to the free laminar vortex rings.

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References (36)

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Outline

Information

Phys. Rev. Fluids 9, L051602– Published 28 May, 2024
  • Received 9 February 2024
  • Accepted 23 April 2024
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