Can bubbles sink ships?

摘要

I investigate the interplay between the buoyancy force and the upwelling (or drag) force which act on a floating object when bubbles are rising through a body of water. Bubbles reduce the buoyant force by reducing the density of the water, but if they entrain an upwelling flow of water as they rise, they can produce a large upward drag force on the floating object. In an upwelling flow, our model ship (density = 0.94 g/cm3) floats in a foam whose density is only 0.75 g/cm3. Comparing results with and without upwelling currents is an interesting demonstration and has real-world applications to ships in the ocean