Projects per year
Abstract
This study is to understand confinement effect on the dynamical behaviour of a droplet immersed in an immiscible liquid subjected to a simple shear flow. The lattice Boltzmann method, which uses a forcing term and a recoloring
algorithm to realize the interfacial tension effect and phase separation respectively, is adopted to systematically study droplet deformation and breakup in confined conditions. The effects of capillary number, viscosity ratio of the droplet to the carrier liquid, and confinement ratio are studied. The simulation results are compared against the theoretical predictions, experimental and numerical data available in literature. We find that increasing confinement ratio will enhance deformation, and the maximum deformation occurs at the viscosity ratio of unity. The droplet is found to orient more towards the flow direction with increasing viscosity ratio or confinement ratio. Also, it is noticed that the wall effect becomes more significant for the confinement ratios larger than 0.4. Finally, the critical capillary number, above which the droplet breakup occurs, is found to be mildly affected by the confinement for the viscosity ratio of unity. Upon increasing the confinement ratio, the critical capillary number increases for the viscosity ratios less than unity, but decreases for the viscosity ratios more than unity.
algorithm to realize the interfacial tension effect and phase separation respectively, is adopted to systematically study droplet deformation and breakup in confined conditions. The effects of capillary number, viscosity ratio of the droplet to the carrier liquid, and confinement ratio are studied. The simulation results are compared against the theoretical predictions, experimental and numerical data available in literature. We find that increasing confinement ratio will enhance deformation, and the maximum deformation occurs at the viscosity ratio of unity. The droplet is found to orient more towards the flow direction with increasing viscosity ratio or confinement ratio. Also, it is noticed that the wall effect becomes more significant for the confinement ratios larger than 0.4. Finally, the critical capillary number, above which the droplet breakup occurs, is found to be mildly affected by the confinement for the viscosity ratio of unity. Upon increasing the confinement ratio, the critical capillary number increases for the viscosity ratios less than unity, but decreases for the viscosity ratios more than unity.
Original language | English |
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Number of pages | 19 |
Journal | Journal of Computational Science |
Early online date | 15 Mar 2016 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 15 Mar 2016 |
Keywords
- lattice Boltzmann method
- droplet dynamics
- deformation
- confinement
- breakup
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Dive into the research topics of 'Droplet dynamics in confinement'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Projects
- 3 Finished
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Pore-Scale Study of Gas Flows in Ultra-tight Porous Media
Zhang, Y. (Principal Investigator) & Scanlon, T. (Co-investigator)
EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council)
1/09/15 → 30/09/19
Project: Research
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UK Consortium on Mesoscale Engineering Sciences (UKCOMES)
Zhang, Y. (Principal Investigator)
EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council)
1/06/13 → 31/05/18
Project: Research
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E Infrastructure Bid - Capital Equipment Bid
Littlejohn, D. (Principal Investigator), Fedorov, M. (Co-investigator), Mulheran, P. (Co-investigator) & Reese, J. (Co-investigator)
EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council)
20/01/12 → 31/03/12
Project: Research