Simulations of bubble division in the flow of a foam past an obstacle in a narrow channel

• Foam flow through a simplified porous medium in a channel is simulated.
• Bubble division at an obstacle leads to lamellae generation.
• High dispersity in the bubble area distribution is found.
• The highest polydispersities are found for flow around an off-centre obstacle.
• Diffusion-driven coarsening opposes the increase in the number of bubbles.

When foams flow through porous media, the interaction of the lamellae with the walls of the channels leads to changes in the bubble size distribution. We predict these changes using Surface Evolver simulations of simple foam structures subject to bubble creation via lamella division. We use a model porous medium consisting of a disc in a straight channel. The position of the disc within the channel is shown to significantly affect the final polydispersity of the foam, with a slightly off-centre disc giving the highest polydispersity. We also find that after repeated passes of the foam through the channel, the process of bubble division eventually ceases, leaving a foam with an average bubble area slightly larger than the disc size.

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