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Bubble suspension rheology and implications for conduit flow

Llewellin, E.W.; Manga, M.

Authors

M. Manga



Abstract

Bubbles are ubiquitous in magma during eruption and influence the rheology of the suspension. Despite this, bubble-suspension rheology is routinely ignored in conduit-flow and eruption models, potentially impairing accuracy and resulting in the loss of important phenomenological richness. The omission is due, in part, to a historical confusion in the literature concerning the effect of bubbles on the rheology of a liquid. This confusion has now been largely resolved and recently published studies have identified two viscous regimes: in regime 1, the viscosity of the two-phase (magma–gas) suspension increases as gas volume fraction phi increases; in regime 2, the viscosity of the suspension decreases as phi increases. The viscous regime for a deforming bubble suspension can be determined by calculating two dimensionless numbers, the capillary number Ca and the dynamic capillary number Cd. We provide a didactic explanation of how to include the effect of bubble-suspension rheology in continuum, conduit-flow models. Bubble-suspension rheology is reviewed and a practical rheological model is presented, followed by an algorithmic, step-by-step guide to including the rheological model in conduit-flow models. Preliminary results from conduit-flow models which have implemented the model presented are discussed and it is concluded that the effect of bubbles on magma rheology may be important in nature and results in a decrease of at least 800 m in calculated fragmentation-depth and an increase of between 40% and 250% in calculated eruption-rate compared with the assumption of Newtonian rheology.

Citation

Llewellin, E., & Manga, M. (2005). Bubble suspension rheology and implications for conduit flow. Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research, 143(1-3), 205-217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2004.09.018

Journal Article Type Article
Publication Date 2005-05
Deposit Date Mar 29, 2007
Journal Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research
Print ISSN 0377-0273
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 143
Issue 1-3
Pages 205-217
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2004.09.018
Keywords Magma rheology, Bubble suspension, Conduit-flow model, Eruption model, Capillary number.