Computer simulations of deformation of moving drops and bubbles by use of the finite element method

Deformation of moving drops and bubbles in a quiescent liquid was studied theoretically by use of the finite element method. In the analyses, triangular elements were used, where velocity vectors and pressure were discretized by biquadratic and bilinear trial functions respectively, and the shape of the interface was expressed by the Hermite cubic trial function. For rising bubbles, the experimental results of Tadaki and Maeda on deformation and drag coefficients are explained by numerical simulations. For the deformation of drops, the numerical analyses agree well with the experimental results of Wellek et al.