碰撞聚合引起液滴数目变化的生灭过程模型

液滴碰撞聚合是气体/液滴两相流动中的重要现象.为研究碰撞聚合引起的液滴数目变化,考虑液相仅包含大小两类尺寸液滴的情形,计算不同尺寸的两个液滴间的碰撞概率,对固定观察区域内液滴的碰撞聚合、迁入及迁出因素作随机分析,建立描述液滴数目变化的生灭过程模型.由无条件概率模型方程,得出模型方程的相应平稳分布.以雨滴下落过程的质量增长为例,说明所得分布在气体液滴两相流动中的应用.     

声悬浮液滴的表面毛细波及八阶扇谐振荡

采用声悬浮方法研究了自由液滴表面的毛细波形成机理,并利用主动调制声场技术激发了液滴的八阶扇谐振荡.实验结果表明,当声场调制频率接近液滴本征频率的两倍时,液滴将由轴对称受迫振荡向非轴对称扇谐振荡模态转变.实验与理论分析证实,参数共振是毛细波与扇谐振荡的形成原因.扇谐振荡的本征频率随液滴赤道半径的增大而减小,可通过修正的Rayleigh方程来描述. 关键词： 声悬浮 液滴 毛细波 扇谐振荡     

NMR imaging of falling water drops

The falling water drop is a simple model for studying phenomena related to chemical extraction, where two immiscible phases are dynamically blended to promote the transport of solute molecules from one phase to the other. Convective motion inside the drop significantly influences the extraction efficiency. Whereas optical and tracer methods are model bound or invasive, NMR imaging is noninvasive, direct, and applicable to nontransparent media. The first NMR measurements of a water drop falling through air are reported. It is shown that, in drops from pure water, large-scale convection rolls are observed in contrast to drops with the surface tension lowered by surfactants.     

Electrowetting --A versatile tool for controlling microdrop generation

Integrating insulator-covered electrodes into a microfluidic flow focusing device (FFD) we demonstrate enhanced flexibility and control of the flow of two non-miscible liquids based on electrowetting (EW). In the parameters space, determined by liquid inlet pressures, we identify a specific region where drops can only be generated and addressed via EW. In this regime we show that the size distribution and the frequency of drop generation can be controlled by the applied voltage and the width of voltage pulses. Moreover it turns out that with EW the drop size and the frequency can be tuned independently. Finally we show that the same drop generation phenomena can also be observed in the presence of surfactants.     

倾斜均质表面上等径水滴聚合过程的可视化实验

对倾斜均匀表面上等直径水滴的聚合过程及特性进行了可视化实验研究,获得了水滴直径和表面倾角等参数对液滴聚合过程中液滴液桥半径、接触角和接触线变化特性的影响,分析了水滴聚合对其运动的影响.实验结果表明:表面倾角越大,下滑的临界半径越小;液滴的直径越大,液滴聚合后越容易下滑;液滴聚合可以加快液滴的运动,使下滑临界半径减小.     

水平均质表面上液滴聚合过程的可视化实验研究

对水平均匀表面上液滴的聚合过程及特性进行了可视化实验研究,获得了液滴半径和液滴物性等参数对液滴聚合过程中液滴液桥半径和接触角变化特性的影响规律。实验结果表明:液滴聚合中液桥半径和接触角都呈衰减振荡变化; 聚合前液滴半径越小,液桥半径振荡频率越大,振幅越小,振荡时间越短;液滴的粘度越大,液桥半径的振荡频率越小, 振幅越小,振荡时间越短;液滴聚合前的接触角明显大于聚合液滴静止后的接触角,其差值与固体界面状况和气、固、液物性相关。     

纳米结构表面上部分润湿液滴合并诱导弹跳的理论研究

部分润湿液滴是适宜纳米结构表面上滴状冷凝传热的主要载体,研究纳米结构参数与部分润湿液滴合并弹跳之间的关系有重要意义,本文依据冷凝液滴生长过程中能量增加最小的原理来判断其是否为部分润湿状态,并根据液滴合并前后的体积和界面自由能守恒,确定了合并液滴的初始形状,进而对合并液滴变形过程的动力学方程进行了求解,结果表明:部分润湿冷凝液滴仅在纳米柱具有一定高度、直径间距比较大的表面上形成,而当纳米柱高度过低、直径间距比小于0.1时则形成完全润湿的冷凝液滴;液滴合并后能否弹跳与纳米结构参数紧密相关,仅在纳米柱较高、直径间距比适宜的表面上,部分润湿液滴合并后才能诱发弹跳;液滴尺度及待合并液滴间的尺度比对合并弹跳也有重要影响;多个部分润湿液滴合并后由于具有更多的过剩界面自由能而比两个液滴合并更容易诱发弹跳,本模型对纳米结构表面上冷凝液滴是否合并诱发弹跳的计算结果与绝大部分实测结果相一致,准确率达到95%。     

Lateral vibration of a water drop and its motion on a vibrating surface

The resonant modes of sessile water drops on a hydrophobic substrate subjected to a small-amplitude lateral vibration are investigated using computational fluid dynamic (CFD) modeling. As the substrate is vibrated laterally, its momentum diffuses within the Stokes layer of the drop. Above the Stokes layer, the competition between the inertial and Laplace forces causes the formation of capillary waves on the surface of the drop. In the first part of this paper, the resonant states of water drops are illustrated by investigating the velocity profile and the hydrostatic force using a 3d simulation of the Navier-Stokes equation. The simulation also allows an estimation of the contact angle variation on both sides of the drop. In the second part of the paper, we investigate the effect of vibration on a water drop in contact with a vertical plate. Here, as the plate vibrates parallel to gravity, the contact line oscillates. Each oscillation is, however, rectified by hysteresis, thus inducing a ratcheting motion to the water droplet vertically downward. Maximum rectification occurs at the resonant states of the drop. A comparison between the frequency-dependent motion of these drops and the variation of contact angles on their both sides is made. The paper ends with a discussion on the movements of the drops on a horizontal hydrophobic surface subjected to an asymmetric vibration.     

Vibration-induced climbing of drops

We report an experimental study of liquid drops moving against gravity, when placed on a vertically vibrating inclined plate, which is partially wetted by the drop. The frequency of vibrations ranges from 30 to 200 Hz, and, above a threshold in vibration acceleration, drops experience an upward motion. We attribute this surprising motion to the deformations of the drop, as a consequence of an up or down symmetry breaking induced by the presence of the substrate. We relate the direction of motion to contact angle measurements. This phenomenon can be used to move a drop along an arbitrary path in a plane, without special surface treatments or localized forcing.     

Effect of CO2 shielding gas on metal droplet formationin arc welding

We have developed a unified arc electrode model that enables us to make predictions of the time development of molten drops from the welding wire in gas metal arc welding. The wire is taken as the positive electrode, and the effects of surface tension, magnetic pinch forces, and convection within the drop are taken into account to predict drop detachment for any given arc current. For pure argon, we have previously predicted the sharp transition that is observed experimentally at about 300 A between globular transfer at low current, when drop diameters are larger than the wire diameter, and spray transfer, for currents above 300 A, when drop diameters are smaller than the wire diameter. In this paper, we predict that addition of 25% of CO₂ to the argon leads to an increase in the transition current to more than 325 A, also in agreement with published experimental results. For pure CO₂, we find a significantly different drop behavior due to the more constricted arc. Both small and large drops are produced, with many very small drops being produced successively between each large drop     

Star-drops formed by periodic excitation and on an air cushion – A short review

When simply put on a solid, a liquid drop usually adopts the shape of a spherical cap or a puddle depending on its volume and on the wetting conditions. However, when the drop is subjected to a periodic field, a parametric excitation can induce a transition of shape and can break the drop’s initial axial symmetry, provided that the pinning forces at the contact-line are weak enough. Therefore, a standing wave appears at the drop interface and induces a periodic motion, with a frequency that equals half the excitation frequency. In the first part, we review the different situations where star drops can be generated from various types of periodic excitations. In the second part, we show that similar star drops can occur in a much less intuitive fashion when the drop is put on an air cushion, where no periodic motion is imposed a priori. Preliminary experiments as well as theoretical clues for a hydrodynamic interpretation, suggest that the periodic vibration is due to an inertial instability in the air layer below the drop.     

Droplet Size Distribution and Sphericity Measurements of Low‐Density Sprays Through Image Analysis

An image analysis technique has been developed in order to determine the drop size distributions of sprays produced by low‐velocity plain cylindrical jets. The particle sizing method is based on incoherent backlight images. Each drop is analyzed individually in the image. The two‐dimensional image resulting from the projection of the three‐dimensional object shape (the drop) on a screen (the video sensor surface) is modeled. The model, based on the point spread function formulation, has been developed to derive a relation between contrast and relative width of individual drops. This relation is used to extend the domain of validity of drop size in terms of size range, out of focus and image resolution. The shape parameter is determined for each drop image through morphological analysis. Spherical and non‐spherical droplets are then sorted on the basis of this parameter. Non‐spherical drops are regarded as non‐fully atomized liquid bulks or coalesced drops. Finally, the droplet size distribution of true spherical droplets is established for a low‐velocity plain cylindrical liquid jet.     

Evaporation of Charged Drops

A model of evaporation of a multiply charged liquid drop is developed. The model self-consistently takes into account the main factors influencing the charged drop evaporation, including effects of the drop surface curvature and charge on the saturated vapor pressure, repeated fragmentation of drops during evaporation, and the capability of drops having a unit charge and a certain stabilization radius not to evaporate even in an unsaturated vapor medium. Analytical dependences are derived that can be used to calculate an integral lifetime of a charged drop with allowance for its fragmentation into smaller drops. Our estimates demonstrate that the evaporation time of charged drops is much smaller than that of uncharged drops.     

Correlation between drop vaporization and self-ignition

A parametric analysis of numerical solutions to problems of vaporization and self-ignition of liquid hydrocarbon drops was performed, and a new criterion determining the conditions of drop self-ignition was suggested. According to this criterion, self-ignition at a given reduced distance from the drop begins when the required reduced gas temperature and equivalence ratio are reached. A new model of heating and vaporization of drops in dense gas suspensions was suggested. The model was verified in multidimensional calculations of self-ignition and combustion of drop clouds. Calculations showed that the model correctly described the phenomenology of local formation and anisotropic propagation of self-ignition waves in suspensions of drops in gases.     

Measurement of the continuous Lehmann rotation of cholesteric droplets subjected to a temperature gradient

In 1900, Otto Lehmann observed the continuous rotation of cholesteric drops when subjected to a temperature gradient. This thermomechanical phenomenon was predicted 68 years later by Leslie from symmetry arguments but was never reobserved to our knowledge. In this Letter, we present an experiment allowing quantitative analysis of the Lehmann effect at the cholesteric-isotropic transition temperature. More precisely, we measure the angular velocity of cholesteric drops as a function of their size and the temperature gradient and we show that applying an electric field can stop the drop rotation. From these observations and a theoretical model we estimate the Lehmann coefficient nu.     

Energy analysis of possible channels for decomposition of a charged drop into two parts

Based on numerical analysis of the mathematical expression for potential energy of an isolated charged spheroidal drop and two approximate spheroidal daughter drops, mechanisms for decomposition of a multiply charged drop in two nearly equal parts were studied taking into account the electrostatic interaction of the daughter drops. It was shown that, as the distance between the daughter drops increased, both the probability of spontaneous decomposition of a multiply charged drop in two daughter drops and the decomposition symmetry degree increase at the moment of breaking the connection between the daughter drops.     

Interaction of shock waves with bubble-liquid drops

The regular reflection of an air shock wave from a spherical drop of a bubble liquid is studied. In the framework of an extended equilibrium model, the effect of the shock waves on single drops of various shapes and on drop ensembles (drop screens) is numerically investigated. It is shown that, when subjected to shock waves, bubble-liquid drops and drops of a bubble-free liquid collapse in a radically different way.     

Topological changes in bipolar nematic droplets under flow

Bipolar liquid crystal drops moving inside microchannels exhibit periodic director field transformations due to induced circulating flows inside them. These modifications are characterized by changes in the type of point surface disclinations; they periodically change from splay to bend disclinations, implying the drop changes between bipolar and escaped concentric configurations. Upon stopping the flow, this structure does not relax to the lower energy bipolar configuration; we argue this is due to drop flattening inside the channels.     

Drying and advancing droplets of polymer solutions

In this paper, we report on the competition between evaporation and hydrodynamics for advancing drops of polymer solutions. We thus study advancing drops which are allowed to evaporate. Drying drives the accumulation of polymer at the contact line, whereas the advancing motion tends to homogenize the drop. At high velocity, we experimentally verify classical hydrodynamics predictions. At intermediate velocities, drying dominates and the contact line becomes more viscous than the bulk droplet. In the limiting case of very low velocities, the contact line can be partially pinned on the substrate because of the formation of a glassy defect at the contact line.