On simulations investigating droplet diameter–charge distributions in electrostatically atomized dielectric liquid sprays

A general procedure has been developed for the simulation of charged liquid and electrostatically atomized sprays. The procedure follows a Lagrangian approach for simulation of spray droplets and a Eulerian approach for gas‐phase variables, including the electric field generated by the charge presence on droplets. Validation of the procedure was examined through simulations of previously published charged spray experiments. Results showed that for the specification of initial droplet charge, modelling the droplet charge–diameter relationship through a scaling law is as reliable a method as using a directly obtained charge–diameter relationship from experimental measurements. The normalized root‐mean‐square errors for sprays using the two methods were shown to be within 12% of one another, for the prediction of spatially averaged profiles of mean droplet diameters, mean axial velocities and mean radial droplet velocities. Results showed that the general spatial characteristics and dynamics of a charged liquid spray can successfully be reproduced, including the axial and radial dispersal pattern of droplets and the distribution of mean droplet diameters throughout the spray plume. For all sprays with droplet charges defined through a scaling law relationship, the normalized root‐mean‐square errors range from 9.0% to 31.6% for mean droplet diameters, 10.4% to 67.9% for mean axial droplet velocities and 16.8% to 38.6% for mean radial droplet velocities. Lastly, we present a brief set of general recommendations for simulating electrostatically atomized dielectric liquid sprays.Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

双流体雾化液滴荷电特性分析

本文通过理论分析,提出了双流体荷电雾化过程中,增大电场强度或减小液滴粒径均能提高荷电效果的论点。针对不同的电极布置情况建立了数值模拟模型,计算结果表明,双流体喷嘴接地时,喷嘴与环状电极之间的电场强度比喷嘴不接地时大很多。通过实验,验证了电场强度、液滴粒径等参数对荷电效果的影响规律,在环状电极荷电情况下,双流体喷嘴接地时,液体荷质比高于双流体喷嘴不接地时的荷质比;电场强度增大,荷质比增加;液滴粒径越小,荷质比越大;在一定的电导率范围内,电导率越大,荷质比越小。实际喷雾中,运动液滴发生二次破碎的临界荷电量小于Rayleigh极限。     

Application of maximum entropy method for droplet size distribution prediction using instability analysis of liquid sheet

This paper describes the implementation of the instability analysis of wave growth on liquid jet surface, and maximum entropy principle (MEP) for prediction of droplet diameter distribution in primary breakup region. The early stage of the primary breakup, which contains the growth of wave on liquid–gas interface, is deterministic; whereas the droplet formation stage at the end of primary breakup is random and stochastic. The stage of droplet formation after the liquid bulk breakup can be modeled by statistical means based on the maximum entropy principle. The MEP provides a formulation that predicts the atomization process while satisfying constraint equations based on conservations of mass, momentum and energy. The deterministic aspect considers the instability of wave motion on jet surface before the liquid bulk breakup using the linear instability analysis, which provides information of the maximum growth rate and corresponding wavelength of instabilities in breakup zone. The two sub-models are coupled together using momentum source term and mean diameter of droplets. This model is also capable of considering drag force on droplets through gas–liquid interaction. The predicted results compared favorably with the experimentally measured droplet size distributions for hollow-cone sprays.     

Electrokinetic Mixing and Displacement of Charged Droplets in Hydrogels

Mixing in droplets is an essential task in a variety of microfluidic systems. Inspired by electrokinetic mixing, electric field-induced hydrodynamic flow inside a charged droplet embedded in an unbounded polyelectrolyte hydrogel is investigated theoretically. In this study, the polyelectrolyte hydrogel is modeled as a soft, and electrically charged porous solid saturated with a salted Newtonian fluid, and the droplet is considered an incompressible Newtonian fluid. The droplet-hydrogel interface is modeled as a surface, which is located at the plane of shear, with the electrostatic potential \(\zeta \) . The fluid inside the droplet attains a finite velocity owing to hydrodynamic coupling with the electroosmotic flow arising from the droplet and polymer charge. The fluid velocity inside the droplet is linearly proportional to the electroosmotic flow velocity in the charged gel and the electroosmotic flow velocity beyond the electrical double layer of a charged interface. It is found that the polymer boundary condition at the droplet surface and the viscosities of the fluids inside and outside the droplet significantly modulate the interior fluid flow. The ionic strength and the permeability of the polymer network impact the flow differently depending on whether the flow arises from the droplet or polymer charge. Finally, the displacement of a charged droplet embedded in a gel under the influence of an external electric field is undertaken. This work is motivated by experimental attempts, which can register sub-nanometer-scale inclusion displacements in hydrogels, to advance electrical microrheology as a diagnostic tool for probing inclusion-hydrogel interfaces. In the absence of polymer charge, a close connection is found between the electrical response of a charged droplet when it is immobilized in an uncharged incompressible gel and when it is dispersed in a Newtonian electrolyte.     

Droplet impact dynamics for two liquids impinging on anisotropic superhydrophobic surfaces

Droplet impingement experiments were performed on grooved hydrophobic surfaces with cavity fractions of 0, 80, and 93?% using droplets of water and a 50?%/50?% water/glycerol mixture. The influence of liquid viscosity, cavity fraction, and spreading direction, relative to the surface grooves, is explored qualitatively and quantitatively. The maximum droplet spread diameter, velocity of the rebounding jet, and the time delay between droplet impact and jet emission were characterized for Weber numbers, We, based on droplet impact speed and diameter, up to 500. The unequal shear stresses and contact angles influence the maximum spread diameters in the two primary spread directions. At We?>?100, the ratio of the spread diameter along the direction of the grooves to the spread diameter perpendicular to the grooves increases above unity with increasing We. The maximum droplet spread diameter is compared to recent predictive models, and the data reveal differing behavior for the two fluids considered. The results also reveal the existence of very high relative jet velocities in the range 5????We????15 for water droplets, while such jets were not observed for the more viscous mixture. Further, in the range 115????We????265, the water/glycerol jet formation dynamics are radically different from the water behavior. Most evident is the existence of two-pronged jets, which arise from the anisotropy of the surface and the unequal shear stresses and contact angles that prevail on the surfaces. It is these influences that give rise to differences in the maximum spread diameters in the two primary spread directions. Similar two-pronged jet emission was observed for water over the very narrow range of We from 91 to 96. The issuing jet velocities were also observed to increase with increasing cavity fraction for both fluids and over the entire range of We explored. Lastly, the elapsed time between droplet impact and jet emission decreased with increasing cavity fraction.     

A multiphysics model for charged liquid droplet breakup in electric fields

A computational multiphysics model for simulating the formation and breakup of droplets from axisymmetric charged liquid jets in electric fields is developed. A fully-coupled approach is used to combine two-phase flow, electrostatics, and transport of charged species via diffusion, convection, and migration. A conservative level-set method is shown to be robust and efficient for interface tracking. Parametric simulations are performed across a range of fluid properties corresponding to commonly used liquids in inkjet printing and spray applications to examine their role in jet evolution and droplet formation. Specifically, the effects of electric potential drop, surface tension, viscosity, and mobility are investigated. Droplet velocity and size distributions are calculated, and the corresponding mean values are found to increase and decrease respectively with increasing electric field strength. The variations in droplet velocity and size are quantified, and droplet size and charge levels agree well with experimental values. Increasing mobility of charged species is found to enhance jet velocity and accelerate droplet formation by shifting charge from the liquid interior to the interface.     

Evaporation of thin liquid droplets on heated surfaces

We carry out combined experimental and theoretical studies of liquid droplet evaporation on heated surfaces in a closed container filled with saturated vapor. The droplets are deposited on an electrically heated thin stainless steel foil. The evolution of droplet shapes is studied by optical methods simultaneously with high-resolution foil temperature measurements using thermochromic liquid crystals. A mathematical model is developed based on the assumptions that the droplet surface has uniform mean curvature and the contact line is pinned during evaporation. Both the dynamics of liquid–vapor interface and the temperature profiles at the foil are shown to be in good agreement with the experimental data.     

煤油液滴直径对两相旋转爆轰发动机流场的影响

为探究煤油液滴不同初始直径对气液两相旋转爆轰发动机流场的影响,假设初始注入的煤油液滴具有均匀直径,考虑雾化破碎、蒸发等过程,建立了非定常两相爆轰的Eulerian-Lagrangian模型,进行了液态煤油/高温空气爆轰的非预混二维数值模拟。结果表明：在初始液滴直径为1～70μm的工况范围,燃烧室内均形成了单个稳定传播的旋转爆轰波;全局当量比为1时,爆轰波前的空气区域大于液滴煤油的蒸气区域,导致波前燃料空气混合不均匀,波前均存在富油区和贫油区,两相速度差导致分离出的空气形成低温条带;当煤油液滴的初始直径较小时,波前的反应物混合过程主要受蒸发的影响,爆轰波可稳定传播;当直径减小至1μm时,煤油液滴在入口处即蒸发,旋转爆轰波表现为气相传播的特性,爆轰波结构平整;当煤油液滴的初始直径较大时,波前的反应物混合过程主要受液滴破碎的影响;对于相同的燃料质量流量,在不同初始煤油液滴直径工况下,煤油液滴最大的停留时间均占爆轰波传播时间尺度的80%以上;爆轰波前燃料预蒸发为气相的占比越高,爆轰波的传播速度越高;初始液滴直径为10～70μm的工况范围内,爆轰波的速度随初始直径的增大先升高后降低。     

An Eulerian–Lagrangian hybrid model for the coarse-grid simulation of turbulent liquid jet breakup

In this paper we present a numerical model for the coarse-grid simulation of turbulent liquid jet breakup using an Eulerian–Lagrangian coupling. To picture the unresolved droplet formation near the liquid jet interface in the case of coarse grids we considered a theoretical model to describe the unresolved flow instabilities leading to turbulent breakup. These entrained droplets are then represented by an Eulerian–Lagrangian hybrid concept. On the one hand, we used a volume of fluid method (VOF) to characterize the global spreading and the initiation of droplet formation; one the other hand, Lagrangian droplets are released at the liquid–gas interface according to the theoretical model balancing consolidating and disruptive energies. Here, a numerical coupling was required between Eulerian liquid core and Lagrangian droplets using mass and momentum source terms. The presented methodology was tested for different liquid jets in Rayleigh, wind-induced and atomization regimes and validated against literature data. This comparison reveals fairly good qualitative agreement in the cases of jet spreading, jet instability and jet breakup as well as relatively accurate size distribution and Sauter mean diameter (SMD) of the droplets. Furthermore, the model was able to capture the regime transitions from Rayleigh instability to atomization appropriately. Finally, the presented sub-grid model predicts the effect of the gas-phase pressure on the droplet sizes very well.     

Non‐conforming finite elements for axisymmetric charged droplet deformation dynamics and Coulomb explosions

The deformations of both electrically charged and uncharged incompressible axisymmetric Newtonian viscous liquid droplets acting under the effects of surface tension (but not gravity) are studied using a non‐conforming, discontinuous Galerkin finite element procedure with moving meshes. The full Navier–Stokes equations are discretized and solved in an Eulerian manner with a simple predictor–corrector Lagrangian updating of the free boundary location coincident with the droplet surface at each solution iteration. By using linear Crouzeix–Raviart basis functions for the velocity and piecewise constant pressures, results are presented both for the simple (oscillatory) relaxation of elongated electrically charged/uncharged droplets to a sphere and for the deformation to steady state/Coulomb explosions of initially slightly oblate/prolate spheroidal droplets charged beyond/to the Rayleigh limit. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Charged droplets evaporation and motion in an electric field

Monodisperse spray evaporation is investigated theoretically when a pure liquid or an electrolyte solution spray is charged and moves through an electric field. The solution of the equations in the case of electrolyte solutions gives the droplet size evolution down to the “equilibrium radius” when the relative humidity is high and down to the saline kernel when the humidity is lower. This solution also gives the dynamic behaviour in an electric field when the droplets are charged and are moving in a gas stream. A non dimensional curve is obtained for a given humidity, molality and temperature, independently of the electric field. With this curve it is possible to predict the droplet evolution only knowing a “middle time” of evaporation, calculated for a given electric force and a given initial radius.     

Flow of electrically charged aerosols past bodies

An experimental investigation was made of the flow of electrically charged aerosols with solid or liquid disperse phase past bodies. Air flows with solid particles (sand, iron) and water drops were produced by special apparatus. The regimes in which the disperse particles and the bodies were charged or neutral were studied. A system of dimensionless numbers and their values are indicated for the different gas-dynamic and electric flow regimes. The main features of the flows are explained and the integrated electric characteristics of the bodies determined. The possibility of controlling the flow of a disperse medium by means of electric fields is demonstrated. It is shown that the inductive charging of liquid films near sharp edges of a body has a strong influence on the electric characteristics of the body (when air with water drops flows past it).Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 4, pp. 71–79, July–August, 1982.     

剪切变稀流体液滴撞击疏水表面回弹现象及最大铺展的研究

非牛顿流体液滴撞击固体表面的行为广泛存在于多种工农业生产中, 然而目前相关研究主要关注牛顿流体, 非牛顿流变特性对液滴撞击动力学的影响机制还有待探索. 本文研究了纯剪切变稀流体(质量分数≤ 0.03%的黄原胶水溶液)液滴撞击疏水表面后的最大铺展及回弹行为. 通过高速摄像技术捕获液滴撞击疏水表面的运动过程及形态变化, 研究了液滴的铺展回缩过程. 实验结果表明, 在相同We下, 剪切变稀特性对液滴撞击疏水表面后的铺展阶段影响很小, 但对回缩阶段影响很大. 黄原胶浓度增加使得液滴依次表现出部分回弹、完全回弹和表面沉积三种不同的回弹行为. 利用能量守恒定律推导出了液滴能在疏水表面上回弹的临界无量纲高度ξ_c理论值. 发现牛顿流体与非牛顿流体液滴最大无量纲高度ξ_max均符合标度律ξ_max ~ αWe斜率随黄原胶浓度增大而减小. 基于有效雷诺数Re_eff, 提出了一种有效黏度μ_eff表达式, 并据此建立了剪切变稀流体的最大无量纲直径β_max预测模型. 该模型在较广We区间与实验测量值取得了良好一致.      

强磁场影响下镓液滴撞击固壁的实验研究

在材料的电磁冶金过程及磁约束核聚变装置中, 金属液滴在磁场和壁面温度影响下的撞击过程表现出复杂的动力学特性. 本文对水平磁场作用下液态镓(Ga)液滴撞击等温和过冷壁面的铺展和回弹特性进行了实验研究. 采用高速相机拍摄液滴撞击过程中轮廓的变化, 通过图像处理获得不同磁场强度、不同撞击速度和不同底板温度下的最大铺展因子、回弹过程中的最大高度以及产生的二次液滴的半径和速度. 碰撞速度由0.45 ~ 1.8 m/s, 磁场强度从0 ~ 1.6 T, 底板温度为30 °C, ?20 °C和?10 °C. 基于实验结果分析了磁场和壁面温度对液滴铺展和回弹的影响规律. 实验结果表明, 液滴撞击等温壁面和过冷壁面的最大铺展因子随We的变化均与理论预测关系式一致. 液滴撞击等温壁面的情况下, 不同的We下, 出现不同的回弹现象. 磁场抑制了平行于磁场方向的液滴铺展和回弹过程中二次液滴的产生, 而对回弹过程中的液滴在平行磁场方向上有拉伸作用. 液滴撞击过冷壁面时, 在一定的We值范围内, 同样会出现二次液滴分离现象, 此时产生的二次液滴的速度较小. 磁场的增强和We的增大都会导致液滴在高度方向的振荡减弱, 加速凝固过程.      

Experiments characterizing the interaction between two sprays of electrically charged liquid droplets

Experiments were conducted to characterize the interaction between two sprays of electrically charged ethanol droplets. The micrometer-size droplet sprays were generated electrohydrodynamically by applying a high positive voltage to two adjacent parallel needles that were located above a distant, electrically grounded funnel. The resultant droplet axial and lateral velocity components and diameter were measured as a function of needle spacing and applied voltage using a Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer. Data were acquired at two axial positions below the needles' tips, for two needle spacings, four applied voltages and at a single flow rate.The results revealed that an increase in applied voltage yielded an increase in the spray charge density. This produced an increase in both the axial and lateral droplet velocity components and a decrease in the droplet Sauter mean diameter and in its variation across the spray. An increase in needle spacing yielded a decrease in the axial velocity component. The lateral velocity component and the Sauter mean diameter, however, were not noticeably affected by this increase. Photographic data established a relationship between the lateral half-width of the spray and axial distance. This was used to identify a nondimensional similarity between the axial mean velocity component and lateral position. The results collectively support that appropriate variations in the applied voltage and needle spacing can yield more spatially uniform mean velocity component and Sauter mean diameter profiles. These variations bring about increased mixing between the two needles' sprays and, thus, an enhanced development of the combined droplet spray.     

Coalescence of two droplets impacting a solid surface

Coalescence of a falling droplet with a stationary sessile droplet is studied experimentally. High-speed video images are presented to show coalescence dynamics, shape evolution and contact line movement. Emphasis is put on spread length, which is the length of two coalesced droplets along their original centers. Experimental results have shown that the spread length can be larger or smaller than the ideal spread length, which is the spread diameter of individual droplet plus the center-to-center distance between the two droplets. Three different coalescence mechanisms based on comparing the maximum and the minimum spread lengths to the ideal spread length are identified. Correlations for the maximum and the minimum spread lengths are developed, which can be combined with the coalescence domains to determine the deposition conditions for forming continuous or discontinuous lines.     

Producing droplets smaller than the nozzle diameter by using a pneumatic drop-on-demand droplet generator

A pneumatic droplet generator to produce water/glycerin droplets smaller than the nozzle diameter is described. The generator consists of a T-junction with a nozzle fit into one opening, the second opening connected to a gas cylinder through a solenoid valve and the third connected to a length of steel tubing. The droplet generator is filled with liquid. Opening the valve for a preset time creates a pulse of alternating negative and positive pressure in the gas above the surface of the liquid, ejecting a single droplet through the nozzle. Droplet formation was photographed and the pressure variation in the droplet generator recorded. The effect of various experimental parameters, such as nozzle size, pressure pulse width and liquid properties on droplet formation was investigated. Small droplets could not be generated when liquid viscosity was too low or too high. For pure water, droplet diameters were several times that of the nozzle. Using more viscous glycerin mixtures, droplets with diameters as small as 65% of the nozzle diameter could be produced.     

Drag coefficients of spherical liquid droplets Part 2: Turbulent gaseous fields

The drag of non-evaporating, spherical, liquid droplets was measured in turbulent flow fields at parametric ranges relevant to spray combustion, characterized by the droplet Reynolds number, and the intensity and spatial scales of turbulence. The experimental apparatus comprised a wind-tunnel and a piezo-electric droplet generator. The procedure was to inject water droplets of uniform size co-currently and continuously with vertical turbulent air flows while droplet velocity was measured at different elevations using laser-Doppler velocimetry. Turbulence was characterized using hot-wire anemometry prior to droplet injection. Drag coefficients were calculated using these main measurements and the law of conservation of mechanical energy. Reynolds numbers were investigated in the range 10–100, in terms of the equivalent spherical diameter of a droplet, and the mean relative speed between the ambient gaseous field and the droplets. Weber numbers were much less than unity so droplets were effectively spherical. Relative intensities of turbulence were investigated in the range 20–65 percent, in terms of the mean relative speed. Spatial scales of turbulence were large in comparison to the droplets; the ratio between the spatial integral scale and the droplet diameter was in the range 11–38, and the Kolmogorov scale was comparable in size or smaller than the droplet diameter. Experimental data showed that the drag in turbulent fields under these conditions is not significantly different than that of solid spheres in a quiescent field at the same Reynolds number.The financial support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and the Manufacturing Research Corporation of Ontario is gratefully acknowledged.     

镓铟锡液滴撞击泡沫金属表面的运动学特性研究

常温下为液态的镓铟锡合金以其优异的导热性能在具有特殊要求的传热领域有着重要的应用价值,与传统流动介质相比较大的表面张力使得其产生的流动现象必有所区别.本文研究镓铟锡所形成的液滴撞击泡沫金属表面后所产生的铺展、回缩及回弹现象.采用高速相机拍摄液滴投影轮廓随液滴运动的变化过程,并通过图像处理获得不同撞击速度、底板表面孔径下的液滴铺展系数、中心位置轮廓高度以及液滴回弹后在空中的振动特性.研究结果表明:具有较高表面张力的镓铟锡液滴的铺展系数随无量纲时间的变化在铺展初始阶段仍满足常规流体的1/2次幂关系,只在铺展后期与底板的无量纲孔径有关系;液滴的最大铺展系数在较小无量纲孔径底板大于在光滑镍板,且随底板无量纲孔径增大而逐渐减小;在回弹过程,由于底板孔隙结构的存在使得液滴回弹后在空中的振动呈现3种形态:规则的横向和纵向振动、带旋转的横向和纵向振动以及旋转振动;最后,通过对振动频率的拟合和分析,进一步拓展了传统振动频率理论公式在非规则振动过程预测中的应用.      

Enhancement of filtration efficiency by electrical charges on nebulized particles

There have been few investigations of effects of electrical charge, carried by lab-generated particles, on filtration efficiency testing. Here, we measured the elementary charge on particles and the fraction of particles carrying that charge with a combined electrometer, differential mobility analyzer, and scanning mobility particle sizer. A typical solid NaCl aerosol and liquid diethylhexyl sebacate (DEHS) aerosol were generated with Collison and Laskin nebulizers, respectively. Our experimental results showed that NaCl aerosols carried more charge after aerosol generation. The average net elementary charge per particle was approximately 0.07. The NaCl aerosol was overall positively charged but contained a mixture of neutral and charged particles. Individual particles could carry at most four elementary charges. According to constant theorem, we speculated that original NaCl aerosol contained 17% neutral, 45% positive-, and 38% negative-charged particles in the diameter range from 30 to 300 nm. A Kr-85 neutralizer was used to decrease the charge on the NaCl particles. Our results indicated that the DEHS aerosol was electrically neutral. The effects of electric charge on particle collection by electret and electroneutral high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters were analyzed. Theoretical calculations suggested that charges on original NaCl aerosol particles enhanced the filtration efficiency of HEPA filters.