Bubble size measurements and foam test methods

Robert J. Pugh

doi:10.1017/CBO9781316106938.012

11 - Bubble size measurements and foam test methods

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 September 2016

Robert J. Pugh

Show author details

Robert J. Pugh: Affiliation:
Nottingham Trent University

Book contents

Get access

Summary

“…When you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it, but when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meager and unsatisfactory kind….”

Lord Kelvin, Electrical Units of Measurements, 3 May, 1883. (zapatopi.net/kelvin/quotes).

Introduction

Several non-intrusive analytical techniques have been used to provide information on bubble size distributions, gas fraction, texture and general characteristics of foams. Some of these are relatively simple optical methods, but with the application of image and video analysis, the changes in bubble size and texture of 2D foams can be fairly easily studied during ageing. This information can be useful, but since the rate of deterioration of a wet foam depends on the kinetics of coalescence, drainage and gas diffusion, it is sometimes difficult to separate these events and to resolve the main destabilization mechanism. Bisperink and coworkers (1) reviewed how the variation in 2D bubble size distribution in aging foams may be related to drainage, coalescence and the disproportionation process. Although microscopy can be conveniently used to study 2D foams, more complex techniques based on tomography have been applied to probe the interior and to measure bubble size distribution on 3D foams. The processing of the data usually involves three steps: image acquisition, image processing and data extraction. 3D imaging techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (NMRI) or X-ray computerized tomography can be used to develop a scale model in a computer memory. Based on these models the relationship between physical properties and the structure of solid foams can be established. UV, NMR and ultrasonic reflection methods have also been used, but overall it is still difficult to characterize bubble size and liquid fraction in real 3D foams, and hence most investigations are carried on quasi-2D foams.

Although wet foams are unstable, the kinetics of breakdown can range from seconds to weeks, and this has resulted in the development of many different types of test methods for measuring foam stability. Overall, stability tests may be broadly classified as (a) dynamic tests, which measure the height or volume of the foam in a state of dynamic equilibrium between formation and decay, and (b) static tests, in which the rate of foam formation is zero (the gas flow into the liquid is eliminated) and the foam is allowed to collapse.

Type: Chapter
Information: Bubble and Foam Chemistry , pp. 372 - 404

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316106938.012 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2016

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

(1) Bisperink, C. G. J., Ronteltap, A. D. and Prins, A., Bubble Size Distribution in Foams, Adv. Colloid Interface Sci., 38, 13–32, 1992.Google Scholar

(2) Bikerman, J. J., Measurements of Foaminess, Chapter 3, Foams, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1973.

(3) Ross, J. and Miles, G. D., An Apparatus for Comparison of Foaming Properties of Soaps and Detergents, Oil and Soap, 99–102, May, 1942.

(4) Rudin, A. D., Measurement of Foam Stability of Beer, J. Inst. Brew., 63 (6), 506–509, 1957.Google Scholar

(5) Depraetere, S. A., Delvaux, F., Coghe, S. and Delvaux, F. R., Wheat Variety and Barley Malt Properties: Influence on Haze Intensity and Foam Stability of Wheat Beer, J. Inst. Brew. Distilling, 110 (3), 200–206, 2004.Google Scholar

(6a) Khristov, K., Exerowa, D., Christov, L., Makievski, A. V. and Miller, R., Foam Analyzer: An Instrument Based on the Foam Pressure Drop Technique, Rev. Sci. Instrum., 75, 4797, 2004;Google Scholar

Exerowa, D. and Kruglyakov, P. M., Foam and Foam Films. In Studies in Interface Sciences Series, Vol. 3, Series, Ed. Mobius, D. and Miller, R. Elsevier, 1998;Google Scholar

Khristov, K. and Exerowa, D., Influence of the Foam Film Type on the Foam Drainage Process, Colloids Surf., A, 94, 303–309, 1995.Google Scholar

(7) Lunkenheimer, K. and Malysa, K., A Simple Automated Method of Quantitative Characterization of Foam Behavior, Polym. Int., 52, 536–541, 2003.Google Scholar

Lunkenheimer, K., Malysa, K., Winsel, K., Geggel, K. and Siegel, St., Novel method and parameters for Testing and Characterization of Foam Stability Langmuir, 26 (6), 3888–3888, 2010.Google Scholar

(8) Pugh, R. J., Experimental Techniques for Studying the Structure of Foams and Froths, Adv. Colloid Interface Sci., 114–115, 239–251, 2005.

(9) Prud'homme, R. K. and S. A. Khan, S. A., Eds., Foams, in Surfactant Science, Series, Vol. 57, Marcel Dekker, New York, 1996.

(10) Weissenborn, P. and Pugh, R. J., Measurement of Bubble Size Distribution in Froths and Its Application to Studying Froth Structures and Stability, in Proceedings of the 12th Scandinavian Symposium on Surface Chemistry, Ed. P. Stenius and L. Sarvaranta, Department of Forestry Production, Helsinki University of Technology, Publication C6, Helsinki, pp. 152–154, 1994.

(11) Fains, A., Bertrand, D., Baniel, A. and Popineau, Y., Stability and Texture of Proteins Foams: A Study by Video Image Analysis. Food Hydrocolloids, 11 (1), 63–69, 1997.Google Scholar

(12) Monnereau, C. and Vigner-Aldler, M. J., Dynamics of 3D Real Foam Coarsening, Phys. Rev. Lett., 80, 5228, 1998.Google Scholar

(13) Montminy, M. D., Tannenbaum, A. R. and Macosko, C. W., The 3D Structure of Real Polymer Foams, J. Colloid Interface Sci., 280 (1), 202–211, 2004.Google Scholar

(14) Banhart, J., Advanced Tomographic Methods in Materials Research and Engineering, Oxford University Press, 2008.

(15) Stocco, A., Garcia-Moreno, F, Manke, I., Banhart, J. and Langevin, D., Particle Stabilized Foams: Structure and Ageing, Soft Matter, 7, 631–637, 2011.Google Scholar

(16) Stocco, A., Drenckhan, W., Rio, E., Langevin, D. and Binks, B. P., Particle Stabilized Foams: An Interfacial Study, Soft Matter, 5, 2215–2222, 2009.Google Scholar

(17) Meagher, A. J., Whyte, D., Hutzler, S. and Weaire, D., X-Ray Tomography of Aqueous Systems, Abstract O-3, 10th Eufoam Conference Thessaloniki, Greece, July 2014.

(18) Lambert, J. and Coworkers, Extraction of Relevant Physical Parameters from 3D Images of Foams Obtained by X-ray Tomography, Colloids Surf., A, 2005.

(19) German, J. Bruce and McCarthy, M. J., Stability of Aqueous Foams: Analysis Using Magnetic Resonance Imaging, J. Agric. Food Chem., 37, 1321–1324, 1989.Google Scholar

(20) Stevenson, P., Sederman, A. J., Mantle, M. D. Li, X. and Gladden, L. F., Measurements of Bubble Size Distribution in a Gas-Liquid Foam Using Pulsed – Field Gradient Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, J. Colloid Interface Sci., 352, 114–120, 2010.Google Scholar

(21) Li, X., Shaw, R. and Stevenson, P., Effect of Humidity on Dynamic Foam Stability, Int. J. Miner. Process., 94, 14–19, 2010.Google Scholar

(22) Stevenson, P., Mantle, M. D. and Hicks, J. M., Studies on the Free Drainage of Egg White and Meringue Mixed Froths, Food Hydrocolloids, 21, 221–229, 2007.Google Scholar

(23) Heuser, J., Moller, J., Spendel, W. and Pacey, G., THz Spectroscopy and Imaging in Studying Aqueous Foams, Langmuir, 24, 11414–11421, 2008.Google Scholar

(24) Mujica, N. and Fauve, S., Sound Velocity and Absorption in a Coarsening, Foam, Phys. Rev. E, 66, 021404, 2002.Google Scholar

(25) Pierre, J. and Coworkers, Abstract O-5, Propagation of Acoustic Waves in a Foam Part 1: Experiments, 10th Eufoam Conference, Thessaloniki, Greece, July, 2014.

(26) Salem, I. B., Guillermic, R-M., Sample, C., Leroy, V., Saint-James, A. and Dollet, B., Propagation of Ultrasound in Aqueous Foams: Bubble Size Dependence and Resonance Effects, Soft Matter, 9, 1194–1202, 2013.Google Scholar

(27) Puech, K., Stability Analysis Methods of Colloidal Systems with a New Instrument; the Turbiscan MA 1000, Diploma Studies, Paul-Sabatier University, Toulouse, France, 1996.

(28) Cox, M. F. and Weerasooriya, U., Methyl Ester Ethoxylates, J. Am. Oil Chem. Soc., 74 (7), 847–859, 1997.Google Scholar

(29) The Foam Scan, A New Analytical Method for Characterizing Foams, J. Interfacial Technology Concept, Parc de Chancolan, 69770 Longessaigne, France.

(30) Barsch, O., Kolloidchem. Beih., 20 (1), 1924

Bickerman, J. J., Foams, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1973.

(31) Drenckham, W. and Saint-Jalmes, A., The Science of Foaming, Adv. Colloid Interface Sci., 222, 228–259, 2015.Google Scholar

(32) Sene, K. J., Air Entrainment by Plunging Jets, Chem. Eng. Sci., 43 (10), 2615–2623, 1988.Google Scholar

(33) Kriger, K. T. and Duncan, J. H., Air Entrainment in Plunging Jets and Braking Waves, Annu. Rev Fluid Mech., 44, 2012.Google Scholar

(34) Lorenceau, E., Quere, D. and Eggers, J., Air Entrainment by a Viscous Jet Plunging into a Bath, Phys. Rev. Lett., 93 (25), 254501, 2004.Google Scholar

(35) Cheah, O. and Cilliers, J. J., Foaming Behavior of Aerosol OT Solutions at Low Concentrations Using a Continuous Plunging Jet Method, Colloids Surf., A, 263, 347–352, 2005.Google Scholar

(36) Verbist, G., Weaire, D. and Kraynik, A. M., The Foam Drainage Equation, J. Phys. Condens. Matter, 8, 3715–373, 1996.Google Scholar

(37) Hutzler, S., Losch, D., Carey, E., Weaire, D., Hloucha, M. and Stubenrauch, C., Evaluation of a Steady-State Test of Foam Stability, Philosophical Magazine Letters, 91, 537–552, November, 2011.Google Scholar

(38) Theander, K. and Pugh, R. J., Synergism and Foaming Properties in Mixed Non-Ionic/Fatty Acid Soap Surfactants, J. Colloid Interface Sci., 267, 9–17, 2003.Google Scholar

(39) Ramme, G., A Method to Determine the Average Lifetime of Soap Bubbles, IPS Phys., Upstate, 7 (1), 3–8, 2001.Google Scholar

(40) Tobin, S. T., Meager, A. J., Buffin, B., Mobias, M. and Hutzler, S., A Public Study of the Lifetime Distribution of Soap Films, Am. J. Phys., 79 (8), 819–824, 2011.Google Scholar

(41) Elms, R. and Severance, M., An Overview of the Structure, Theory and Control of Foam, J. Surfactant Deterg., 10 (3), A11–A30, 2007.Google Scholar

(42) Gara, M. and Szatlmayer, G. as reported by Bikerman, J. J., Measurements of Foaminess, Chapter 3, Foams, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1973.

(43) Carey, E. and Stubenrauch, C., Properties of Aqueous Foams Stabilized by Dodecyltrimethylammonium Bromide, J. Colloid Interface Sci., 333, 619–627, 2009.Google Scholar

(44) Baniel, A., Fains, A. and Popineau, Y., Foaming Properties of Egg Albumen with a Bubbling Apparatus Compared with Whipping, J. Food Sci., 62 (2), 377–381, 1997.Google Scholar

(45) Gassmann, B., Kroll, J. and Cifuentes, S., Determination of Foaming Properties of Proteins, Food / Nahrung, 31, 321–330, 1987.Google Scholar

Book contents

11 - Bubble size measurements and foam test methods

Summary

Access options

References

Save book to Kindle

Save book to Dropbox

Save book to Google Drive