Self-scalings of bubble pinch-off and inner jet emitting in a tapered co-flow

TL;DR

This paper explores the formation and scaling laws of bubble-jet generation in tapered microchannels, revealing self-similar dynamics and universal power-law behaviors that govern bubble pinch-off and jet emission.

Contribution

It introduces a multi-stage mathematical model capturing self-similar interfacial dynamics and identifies the core flow mechanisms driving bubble-jet formation in convergent microchannels.

Findings

Necking rupture dynamics follow universal power-law scaling.

Spatiotemporal evolution of necking interfaces exhibits self-similarity.

Jet velocity evolution is consistent across flow regimes.

Abstract

This study systematically investigates the formation mechanisms and scaling laws governing sub-millimeter bubble-jet generation in convergent coaxial microchannels. Experimental observations reveal four distinct evolutionary stages in monodisperse bubble formation: growth, necking, detachment, and stabilization. Through necking rupture dynamics modeling, we demonstrate that the coupled effects of nozzle insertion length ($x$) and convergence angle ($\alpha$) dominate neck width evolution, exhibiting universal power-law scaling across geometric configurations. Crucially, the spatiotemporal evolution of necking interfaces under shear demonstrates self-similarity: temporal evolution follows a power-law decay with respect to remaining time ($T-t$), while spatial scaling correlates with characteristic dimension $W_\text{local}$ through power-law relationships. Multi-stage mathematical models successfully describe this self-similar interfacial behavior, confirming their predictive validity. Furthermore, we identify the core mechanism of bubble-jet formation as dynamic modulation through convergent zone flow fields characterized by front-end stretching and rear-end squeezing interactions. Experimental validation shows consistent jet velocity evolution across flow regimes under multiphysics coupling, establishing geometric similarity principles governing flow structures and dynamic behaviors in convergent microchannel architectures.