Phase field modeling of Taylor flow in mini/microchannels, Part I: Bubble formation mechanisms and phase field parameters

Multiphase heat and mass transfer in microscale devices is a growing field of research due to the potential of these devices for use in various engineering applications. Before the heat and mass transport phenomena in such systems can be modeled, the hydrodynamics of adiabatic multiphase flow, in the absence of specie transport across interfaces, must be accurately predicted. In the present paper, a finite element implementation of the phase field method is applied to simulate Taylor flow in mini/microchannels. Channels with characteristic dimensions ranging from 100 to 500μm are modeled and criteria present in the literature for domain discretization are assessed. The effects of phase field parameters, namely mobility and interface thickness, on the predicted flow features are discussed. The predicted Taylor bubble lengths are compared against empirical correlations as well as available experimental data in the literature. The predicted gas void fraction data for different channel dimensions are compared with numerous experimental studies. The present results indicate a linear variation of gas void fraction with respect to volumetric flow ratio for all channel sizes. ► Multiphase model capable of accurately predicting hydrodynamics of fluid flow. ► Finite element implementation of phase field model applied to simulate Taylor flow. ► Addresses effect of phase field parameters for mobility and interface thickness. ► Numerical Taylor bubble length compared with experimental and empirical data. ► Gas void fraction varied linearly with volumetric flow ratio at all diameters.