Numerical investigation of the formation and detachment of droplets from pores in a shear flow field

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

12-1-2010

Abstract

The formation and detachment behavior of droplets from a pore opening into a simple shear field within a channel gap is investigated using numerical simulations. The mathematical model consists of the governing equations for an incompressible two-phase flow problem with a moving contact line. These equations are numerically solved using the volume-of-fluid method implemented in the open source software OpenFOAM. A parameter study was performed to determine the effect of relevant dimensionless parameters on the formation and detachment behavior of the droplets. These dimensionless parameters involve the pore size, pore flow rate, gap shear rate, interfacial tension, and the viscosity and density of the two fluid phases. For the parameter range considered in this study, different degrees of jetting behavior were observed. Also, the sizes of the detached droplets were seen to decrease as the gap shear rate increased, and increase with the pore flow rate, with the gap shear rate having a larger effect. © 2010 American Institute of Physics.

Publication Title

AIP Conference Proceedings

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