Effect of a polymeric compound layer on jetting dynamics produced by bursting bubbles

TL;DR

This study experimentally investigates how a polymeric compound layer affects the jetting dynamics of bursting bubbles, revealing how viscoelastic properties influence droplet ejection and mass transport in marine environments.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the effects of polymeric layers on bubble bursting dynamics, especially regarding viscoelastic stresses and droplet formation, which were previously unexplored.

Findings

Jet velocity increases with compound layer fraction at fixed polymer concentration.

Fewer and smaller jet drops are produced with higher polymer concentration.

A regime map delineates conditions for jet drop ejection versus no ejection.

Abstract

Jetting dynamics from bursting bubbles play a key role in mediating mass and momentum transport across the air-liquid interface. In marine environments, this phenomenon has drawn considerable attention due to its role in releasing biochemical contaminants, such as extracellular polymeric substances, into the atmosphere through aerosol production. These biocontaminants often exhibit non-Newtonian characteristics, yet the physics of bubble bursting with a rheologically complex layer at bubble-liquid interfaces remains largely unexplored. In this study, we experimentally investigate the jetting dynamics of bubble bursting events in the presence of such polymeric compound layers. Using bubbles coated by a polyethylene oxide solution, we document the cavity collapse and jetting dynamics produced by bubble bursting. At a fixed polymer concentration, the jet velocity increases while the jet radius decreases with an increasing compound layer fraction, as a result of stronger capillary wave damping due to capillary wave separation at the compound interface as well as the formation of smaller cavity cone angles during bubble cavity collapse. These dynamics produce smaller and more numerous jet drops. Meanwhile, as the polymer concentration increases, the jet velocity decreases while the jet radius increases for the same compound layer fraction due to the increasing viscoelastic stresses. In addition, fewer jet drops are ejected as the jets become slower and broader with increasing polymer concentration, as viscoelastic stresses persist throughout the jet formation and thinning process. We further obtain a regime map delineating the conditions for jet drop ejection versus no jet drop ejection in bursting bubbles coated with a polymeric compound layer. Our results may provide new insights into the mechanisms of mass transport of organic materials in bubble-mediated aerosolization processes.