Collision of air bubble with parallel arranged fibers

We present a combined experimental and theoretical study of bubble impact on parallel arranged fibers. Using high-speed videography, we experimentally observed bubble collisions on a fiber array under various conditions. The experiments showed that the collision outcomes can be classified into three modes of capturing, single bubble rising, and splitting. Through a scale analysis, we explain how mode selection depends primarily on the collision speed of bubbles and inter-fiber distance. We also found that in the splitting mode, the size of daughter bubbles cannot be easily controlled due to the dependency on the eccentricity. Our results provide insights into the design of mesh structures that are widely used to control bubbles in fluid transfer systems.