Effects of Marangoni and drag forces on the transition from vapor-rich to air-rich bubbles

In this study, we investigated the formation of air-rich microbubbles through local photothermal heating of non-degassed water. When non-degassed water is locally heated, vapor-rich bubbles are initially formed. These bubbles have a maximum radius of approximately 9 μm and stabilize while oscillating and exhaling air-rich bubbles. However, when the exhaled bubbles fuse and grow, they revert to vapor-rich bubbles on the heat source. The vapor-rich bubbles are then exposed to a large amount of air, causing them to transition to air-rich bubbles. In this paper, the motion of the exhaled air-rich bubble is explained by the drag force owing to the flow and the Marangoni force owing to the temperature gradient acting on the bubble. Because the drag force is proportional to the bubble radius, and the Marangoni force is proportional to the square of the bubble radius, the larger the bubble, the stronger the effect of the Marangoni force. Thus, as the bubbles grow, they are drawn toward the heat source against the flow created by the vapor-rich bubbles. These results are useful for a better understanding of bubble growth and determining the conditions for the stable formation of vapor-rich bubbles in non-degassed water.