Modelling Bubble Lifetime of Thin Film Surfactants Solution on Fuel Spillage

Aims / Objectives: To find the lifetime of the bubble by plotting the rate of mass flow rate change against time. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Mathematics and Applied Science, Catholic University of Eastern Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, between February 2020 and March 2021.

Methodology: The maximum lifetime of the bubble is assumed to match the time when the mass flow rate change is zero. The study also assumes the velocity of flow rate and other fluid properties at the interface of fuel-surfactant constant other than Re. Re is varied from 0.01 to 100.

Results: The graphical plots show that for Re ! 1, and Re " 1, the stability depends on diffusive viscosity and linearized convection, respectively. The simulation suggested that the bubble formed at the fuel-surfactant interface may have Re “ 1 and its lifetime is tb » 0.28.

Conclusion: The lifetime of surfactant depends on Re while assuming other interface properties constant.

Recommendation: Future studies in the area need to consider the effect of variation in temperature, velocity, and Reynolds number in determining the lifetime of a bubble in the thin foam of the surfactant-fuel interface.