The expansion and contraction of a bubble pinned at a submerged tube tip and driven by constant gas flow rate Q are studied both theoretically and experimentally for Reynolds number Re[Lt ]1. Bubble shape, gas pressure, surface velocities, and extrapolated detached bubble volume are determined by a boundary integral method for various Bond (Bo=ρga2/σ) and capillary (Ca=μQ/σa2) numbers, where a is the capillary radius, ρ and μ are the liquid density and viscosity, σ is the surface tension, and g is the gravitational acceleration.

Bubble expansion from a flat interface to near detachment is simulated for a full range of Ca (0.01–100) and Bo (0.01–0.5). The maximum gas pressure is found to vary almost linearly with Ca for 0.01[les ]Ca[les ]100. This correlation allows the maximum bubble pressure method for measuring dynamic surface tension to be extended to viscous liquids. Simulated detached bubble volumes approach static values for Ca[Lt ]1, and asymptote as Q3/4 for Ca[Gt ]1, in agreement with analytic predictions. In the limit Ca→0, two singular time domains are identified near the beginning and the end of bubble growth during which viscous and capillary forces become comparable.

Expansion and contraction experiments were conducted using a viscous silicone oil. Digitized video images of deforming bubbles compare well with numerical solutions. It is observed that a bubble contracting at high Ca snaps off.