Numerical estimation of critical local energy dissipation rate for particle detachment from a bubble-particle aggregate captured within a confined vortex

In flotation, interactions of bubble-particle aggregates with turbulent flow structures in the liquid medium result in particle detachment. This study aims to simulate this phenomenon involving a bubble-particle aggregate (bubble diameter ∼ 3 mm and particle diameter ∼ 314 µm) interacting with a turbulent flow structure manifested as a confined vortex in a square cavity connected to a square cross-section channel. An interface resolved three dimensional (3D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed to quantify the bubble-vortex interaction dynamics over a range of channel Reynolds numbers. The CFD model produced a good agreement with the experimentally measured vorticity magnitude, local energy dissipation rate, and bubble motion. It was shown that a bubble-particle aggregate could be captured within the vortex by suitably varying the channel Reynolds number, eventually leading to particle detachment. A separate force balance analysis was performed to determine a criterion for particle detachment utilising the CFD model predicted vorticity and local energy dissipation rate. It was shown that a critical local energy dissipation rate ∼ 1.59 m2/s3 was required for particle detachment to occur, which was also verified experimentally.