Level‐set based numerical simulation of a migrating and dissolving liquid drop in a cylindrical cavity

In the present paper the dissolution of a binary liquid drop having a miscibility gap and migrating due to thermo‐solutal capillary convection in a cylindrical cavity is studied numerically. The interest in studying this problem is twofold. From a side, in the absence of gravity, capillary migration is one of the main physical mechanisms to set into motion dispersed liquid phases and from the other side, phase equilibria of multi‐component liquid systems, ubiquitous in applications, often exhibit a miscibility gap. The drop capillary migration is due to an imposed temperature gradient between the cavity top and bottom walls. The drop dissolution is due to the fact that initial composition and volume values, and thermal boundary conditions are only compatible with a final single phase equilibrium state. In order to study the drop migration along the cavity and the coupling with dissolution, a previously developed planar two‐dimensional code is extended to treat axis‐symmetric geometries. The code is based on a finite volume formulation. A level‐set technique is used for describing the dynamics of the interface separating the different phases and for mollifying the interface discontinuities between them. The level‐set related tools of redistancing and off‐interface extension are used to enhance code resolution in the critical interface region. Migration speeds and volume variations are determined for different drop radii. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pressure drop in two phase slug/bubble flows in mini scale capillaries

A segmented two phase slug/bubble flow occurs where a liquid and a gas are pumped into the same tube over a range of Reynolds numbers. This segmented two phase flow regime is accompanied by an increase in pressure drop relative to the single phase flow where only one fluid is flowing in a capillary. This work experimentally and theoretically examines the pressure drop encountered by the slug/bubble flow with varying slug lengths in mini channels. In the experimental work the dimensionless parameters of Reynolds number and Capillary number span over three orders of magnitude, and dimensionless slug length ranges over two orders of magnitude to represent flows typical of mini- and micro-scale systems. It is found, in agreement with previous work, that these dimensionless groups provide the correct scaling to represent the pressure drop in two phase slug/bubble flow, although the additional pressure drop caused by the interface regions was found to be ∼40% less than previously reported.     

A boundary‐only approach to the deformation of a shear‐thinning drop in extensional Newtonian flow

The influence of shear thinning on drop deformation is examined through a numerical simulation. A two‐dimensional formulation within the scope of the boundary element method (BEM) is proposed for a drop driven by the ambient flow inside a channel of a general shape, with emphasis on a convergent–divergent channel. The drop is assumed to be shear thinning, obeying the Carreau–Bird model and the suspending fluid is Newtonian. The viscosity of the drop at any time is estimated on the basis of a rate‐of‐strain averaged over the region occupied by the drop. The viscosity thus changes from one time step to the next, and it is strongly influenced by drop deformation. It is found that small drops, flowing on the axis, elongate in the convergent part of the channel, then regain their spherical form in the divergent part; thus confirming experimental observations. Newtonian drops placed off‐axis are found to rotate during the flow with the period related to the initial extension, i.e. to the drop aspect ratio. This rotation is strongly prohibited by shear thinning. The formulation is validated by monitoring the local change of viscosity along the interface between the drop and the suspending fluid. It is found that the viscosity averaged over the drop compares, generally to within a few per cent, with the exact viscosity along the interface.     

Überlegungen zur Scherviskosität von Suspensionen aufgrund einer Dimensionsanalyse

Dimensional analysis of the motion of solid particles suspended in a fluid phase shows that the macroscopic relative shear viscosity of suspensions generally depends not only on the volume concentration and particle shape but also on two Reynolds numbers and a dimensionless sedimentation number. These dimensionless numbers are formed using parameters characterizing the structure and motion of the suspension at the microscopic level. The analysis was based on the assumptions that the dispersed particles are rigid and sufficiently large that Brownian motion may be neglected, that the continuous fluid phase is Newtonian and that the interactions between particles and between particles and fluid phase are only hydrodynamic. The Reynolds numbers describe the influence of the inertial forces at the microscopic level, and the sedimentation number the influence of gravity. The dimensionless numbers can be neglected if their values are much smaller than one. For each of the dimensionless numbers both the shear rate and the particle size influence the shear viscosity. Thus sedimentation number is large for low shear rates, whereas the Reynolds numbers are large for high shear rates. The viscosity function for one suspension can be transformed into the viscosity function for another suspension with geometrically similar particles but of a different size. The scale-up rules are derived from the requirement that the relevant dimensionless numbers must be constant. The influence of non-hydrodynamic effects at the microscopic level on the shear viscosity can be detected by deviations from the derived scale-up rules.     

Numerical simulation of thermo‐solutal‐capillary migration of a dissolving drop in a cavity

In the present paper the thermo‐solutal‐capillary migration of a dissolving liquid drop, composed by a binary mixture having a miscibility gap, injected in a closed cavity with differentially heated end walls, is studied. The main goal of the analysis is to clarify if and how the drop migration is affected by the dissolution process. The numerical code is based on a finite volume formulation. A level‐set technique is used for describing the dynamics of the interface separating the different phases. A thermodynamic constraint fixes the concentration jump between the interface sides. This jump, together with that of the concentration normal derivatives, in turn defines the entity of the dissolution cross‐flow through the interface and the interface velocity relative to the fluid. Since the jump singularity of normal derivatives cannot be easily mollified, while retaining the necessary accuracy, a scheme for the species equation is elaborated that allows sharp jumps and has subcell resolution. Steady migration speeds are determined after the start‐up phase for different radii and temperature differences. The results will be used for the preparation of a sounding rocket space experiment. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of drop size distribution on the flow behavior of oil-in-water emulsions

The effect of drop size distribution on the viscosity was experimentally examined for oil-in-water emulsions at volume fractions of = 0.5, 0.63 and 0.8. At = 0.5, the hydrodynamic forces during drop collisions govern the viscosity behavior. The viscosity versus shear rate curve is scaled on the root-mean-cube diameter which is related to the number of drops per unit volume. At = 0.8, the resistance to flow arises from the deformation and rearrangement of thin liquid films between drops. The viscosity at a given shear rate is inversely proportional to the volume-surface mean diameter which is related to the total interfacial area per unit volume. However, since the drops come into contact and the liquid film separating adjacent drops is generated without drop deformation at = 0.63, the viscosity curve is not scaled on the mean diameter. The flow behavior near the critical volume fraction strongly depends not only on the mean drop size, but also on the width of the distribution.     

激波诱导高速气流中液滴的初期变形

基于激波管平台和高速摄影方法对平面激波诱导高速气流中液滴的早期变形现象进行实验研究。研究发现在相近的We数或Re数下,实验参数的改变可导致液滴形态发展出现显著差异。这种差异主要体现在背风面的脊状环形突起、褶皱区以及后驻点区的凹凸形态。对刚性圆球外流的数值模拟显示,液滴变形早期形态与外流场结构和表面气动力分布之间存在鲜明的对应关系。最后采用简化理论推导出一组估测液滴早期变形的表达式。将数值模拟所得气动力数据代入计算发现:导致液滴变形的主要驱动力是液滴表面不均匀压力的挤压效应,而不是界面剪切摩擦所引起的切向流动堆积效应,前者高出后者约2个数量级;此外,采用压力作用理论计算所得液滴外形在主要变形特征和变形量级上均可与实验图像很好地吻合。     

Finite‐element/level‐set/operator‐splitting (FELSOS) approach for computing two‐fluid unsteady flows with free moving interfaces

The present work is devoted to the study on unsteady flows of two immiscible viscous fluids separated by free moving interface. Our goal is to elaborate a unified strategy for numerical modelling of two‐fluid interfacial flows, having in mind possible interface topology changes (like merger or break‐up) and realistically wide ranges for physical parameters of the problem. The proposed computational approach essentially relies on three basic components: the finite element method for spatial approximation, the operator‐splitting for temporal discretization and the level‐set method for interface representation. We show that the finite element implementation of the level‐set approach brings some additional benefits as compared to the standard, finite difference level‐set realizations. In particular, the use of finite elements permits to localize the interface precisely, without introducing any artificial parameters like the interface thickness; it also allows to maintain the second‐order accuracy of the interface normal, curvature and mass conservation. The operator‐splitting makes it possible to separate all major difficulties of the problem and enables us to implement the equal‐order interpolation for the velocity and pressure. Diverse numerical examples including simulations of bubble dynamics, bifurcating jet flow and Rayleigh–Taylor instability are presented to validate the computational method. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fluid flow simulation in a random elliptical porous medium by using the lattice Boltzmann method

A fluid flow through an isotropic porous medium with randomly arranged elliptical particles is simulated by the lattice Boltzmann method. The dimensionless pressure drop and the dimensionless permeability are evaluated as functions of the Reynolds number. The effect of the aspect ratio of the major to minor semi-axis of the ellipse on the dimensionless permeability is considered for different values of porosity. The pressure drop is thoroughly investigated as a function of fluid viscosity for different values of the aspect ratio and porosity. The influence of various parameters of the problem on the mean tortuosity of the medium is considered.     

Effect of interface deformability on thermocapillary motion of a drop in a tube

The effect of an externally imposed axial temperature gradient on the mobility and deformation of a drop in an otherwise stagnant liquid within an insulated cylindrical tube is investigated. In the absence of bulk transport of momentum and energy, the boundary integral technique is used to obtain the flow and temperature fields inside and outside the deformable drop. The steady drop shapes and the corresponding migration velocities are examined over a wide range of the dimensionless parameters. The steady drop shape is nearly spherical for dimensionless drop sizes <0.5, but becomes slightly elongated in the axial direction for drop sizes comparable to tube diameter. The adverse effect of drop deformation on the effective temperature gradient driving the motion is slightly more pronounced than its favorable effect of reducing drag, thereby leading to a slight reduction in drop mobility with increasing drop deformation. Increasing the viscosity ratio reduces drop deformation and leads to a slight enhancement in the relative mobility (with respect to free thermocapillary motion) of confined drops. When the drop fluid has a lower thermal conductivity than the exterior phase, the presence of the thermally-insulating wall increases the thermal driving force for drop motion (compared to that for the same drop in unbounded domain) by causing more pronounced bending of the isotherms toward the drop. However, the favorable thermal effect of the confining wall is overwhelmed by its retarding hydrodynamic effect, causing the confined drop to always move slower than its unbounded counterpart regardless of the value of the thermal conductivity ratio.     

Sensitivity Analysis of the Dimensionless Parameters in Scaling a Polymer Flooding Reservoir

A set of scaling criteria of a polymer flooding reservoir is derived from the governing equations, which involve gravity and capillary force, compressibility of water, oil, and rock, non-Newtonian behavior of the polymer solution, absorption, dispersion, and diffusion, etc. A numerical approach to quantify the dominance degree of each dimensionless parameter is proposed.With this approach, the sensitivity factor of each dimensionless parameter is evaluated. The results show that in polymer flooding, the order of the sensitivity factor ranges from 10⁻⁵ to 10⁰ and the dominant dimensionless parameters are generally the ratio of the oil permeability under the condition of the irreducible water saturation to water permeability under the condition of residual oil saturation, density, and viscosity ratios between water and oil, the reduced initial oleic phase saturation and the shear rate exponent of the polymer solution. It is also revealed that the dominant dimensionless parameters may be different from case to case. The effect of some physical variables, such as oil viscosity, injection rate, and permeability, on the dominance degree of the dimensionless parameters is analyzed and the dominant ones are determined for different cases.     

A hybrid Lagrangian–Eulerian particle‐level set method for numerical simulations of two‐fluid turbulent flows

A coupled Lagrangian interface‐tracking and Eulerian level set (LS) method is developed and implemented for numerical simulations of two‐fluid flows. In this method, the interface is identified based on the locations of notional particles and the geometrical information concerning the interface and fluid properties, such as density and viscosity, are obtained from the LS function. The LS function maintains a signed distance function without an auxiliary equation via the particle‐based Lagrangian re‐initialization technique. To assess the new hybrid method, numerical simulations of several ‘standard interface‐moving’ problems and two‐fluid laminar and turbulent flows are conducted. The numerical results are evaluated by monitoring the mass conservation, the turbulence energy spectral density function and the consistency between Eulerian and Lagrangian components. The results of our analysis indicate that the hybrid particle‐level set method can handle interfaces with complex shape change, and can accurately predict the interface values without any significant (unphysical) mass loss or gain, even in a turbulent flow. The results obtained for isotropic turbulence by the new particle‐level set method are validated by comparison with those obtained by the ‘zero Mach number’, variable‐density method. For the cases with small thermal/mass diffusivity, both methods are found to generate similar results. Analysis of the vorticity and energy equations indicates that the destabilization effect of turbulence and the stability effect of surface tension on the interface motion are strongly dependent on the density and viscosity ratios of the fluids. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Three‐dimensional boundary element analysis of drop deformation in confined flow for Newtonian and viscoelastic systems

An adaptive (Lagrangian) boundary element approach is proposed for the general three‐dimensional drop deformation in confined flow. The adaptive method is stable as it includes remeshing capabilities of the deforming interface between drop and suspending fluid, and thus can handle large deformations. Both drop and surrounding fluid are viscous incompressible and can be Newtonian or viscoelastic. A boundary‐only formulation is implemented for fluids obeying the linear Jeffrey's constitutive equation. Similarly to the formulation for two‐dimensional Newtonian fluids (Khayat RE, Luciani A, Utracki LA. Boundary element analysis of planar drop deformation in confined flow. Part I. Newtonian fluids. Engineering Analysis of Boundary Elements 1997; 19 : 279), the method requires the solution of two simultaneous integral equations on the interface between the two fluids and the confining solid boundary. Although the problem is formulated for any confining geometry, the method is illustrated for a deforming drop as it is driven by the ambient flow inside a cylindrical tube. The accuracy of the method is assessed by comparison with the analytical solution for two‐phase radial spherical flow, leading to good agreement. The influence of mesh refinement is examined for a drop in simple shear flow. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An Analytic Solution for the Frontal Flow Period in 1D Counter-Current Spontaneous Imbibition into Fractured Porous Media Including Gravity and Wettability Effects

Including gravity and wettability effects, a full analytical solution for the frontal flow period for 1D counter-current spontaneous imbibition of a wetting phase into a porous medium saturated initially with non-wetting phase at initial wetting phase saturation is presented. The analytical solution applicable for liquid–liquid and liquid–gas systems is essentially valid for the cases when the gravity forces are relatively large and before the wetting phase front hits the no-flow boundary in the capillary-dominated regime. The new analytical solution free of any arbitrary parameters can also be utilized for predicting non-wetting phase recovery by spontaneous imbibition. In addition, a new dimensionless time equation for predicting dimensionless distances travelled by the wetting phase front versus dimensionless time is presented. Dimensionless distance travelled by the waterfront versus time was calculated varying the non-wetting phase viscosity between 1 and 100 mPas. The new dimensionless time expression was able to perfectly scale all these calculated dimensionless distance versus time responses into one single curve confirming the ability for the new scaling equation to properly account for variations in non-wetting phase viscosities. The dimensionless stabilization time, defined as the time at which the capillary forces are balanced by the gravity forces, was calculated to be approximately 0.6. The full analytical solution was finally used to derive a new transfer function with application to dual-porosity simulation.     

Numerical simulation of drop migration in channell flow under zero-gravity

The migration of deformable drops in the channel flow neglecting the gravity influence is investigated numerically by solving the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations using the finitedifference method coupled with the front-tracking technique. The objectives of this study are to examine the effectiveness of the present approach for predicting the migration of drops in a shear flow and to investigate the behavior of the drop migration in the channel flow under zero-gravity. To validate the present calculation, some typical results are compared with available computational and theoretical data, which confirms that the present approach is reliable in predicting the drop migration. With respect to the drop migration in the channel flow at finite Reynolds numbers, the drops either move to an equilibrium lateral position or undergo an oscillatory motion under different conditions. The effects of some typical parameters, e.g., the Reynolds number, the Weber number, the viscosity ratio and the density ratio of the drop fluid to the suspending medium, and the drop size, on the migration of drops are discussed and analyzed. The project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (10125210) and the Hundred-Talent Programme of the Chinese Academy of Sciences     

Three-dimensional numerical simulation of sedimenting drops inside a vertical channel

Numerical simulation of sedimenting deformable drops inside a vertical channel has been performed at finite Reynolds numbers. The channel is confined by two vertical walls in x-direction and is periodic in y- and z-directions. Results are obtained using a finite difference/front-tracking method. The main dimensionless parameters are the Reynolds number, the Bond number and ratio of the length of channel to the diameter of drops. The effect of these parameters on lateral migration of drops is investigated. It is found that the wall repulsion is the main mechanism of the lateral migration of the drop, and drop migrates toward the channel axis. When the Reynolds number is relatively low, two different lateral migration regimes are observed: migration with monotonic approach and migration with damped oscillations. These regimes are affected by the dimensionless parameters. When the Bond number increases, the oscillations of drop around the centerline of channel are stronger and drop reaches the channel centerline in a larger period. Results of lateral migration of one drop are consistent with perturbation theory, and two-dimensional numerical simulations performed by Feng et al. (1994). The drag coefficient has also been calculated, and effect of various parameters has been discussed. Two drops interaction is similar to that observed by Feng et al. (1994) for two-dimensional circular cylinders. Results are consistent with experiments performed by Wu and Manasseh (1998). Simulations of four sedimenting drops show that depending on the relative size of drops, they either fall in two rows or they form a single horizontal layer and settle with a unique velocity.     

Interaction between two consecutive axisymmetric Taylor drops flowing in a heavier liquid in a vertical tube

A study regarding the interaction between two consecutive Taylor drops flowing in a heavier liquid in a vertical tube is reported. Under certain conditions, due to the wake of the leading drop, the trailing drop accelerates, leading to coalescence of the two drops. This study was developed using a numerical model based in the Volume of Fluid method in an axisymmetric geometry. The simulations reported in the present work had to fulfill two conditions: axisymmetry (due to the numerical model) and a high enough drop Reynolds number (which is related to the disturbances in the wake of an isolated drop, and thus to the tendency to drop interaction). Relevant dimensionless numbers are used to assess the effect of the acting forces. Detailed flow patterns and drop shapes are provided. Furthermore, the approaching velocity acquired by the trailing drop is analyzed and velocity profiles between the leading and the trailing drop are also reported. In general, the trailing drop shows an accelerating region, followed by a deceleration near the leading drop. The increase of Eotvos number promotes higher accelerations, while the increase in Morton number and viscosity ratio has the opposite effect. By comparison to literature gas-liquid studies, it was also found that interfacial forces promote the shape stability of the drops.     

Axisymmetric boundary integral formulation for a two‐fluid system

A 3D axisymmetric Galerkin boundary integral formulation for potential flow is employed to model two fluids of different densities, one fluid enclosed inside the other. The interface variables are the velocity potential and the normal velocity, and they can be solved for separately, the second linear system being symmetric. The algorithm is validated by comparing with the analytic solutions for a static interior spherical drop over a range of values for the relative densities of exterior and interior fluids and various boundary conditions. For time‐dependent simulations utilizing a level set method for the interface tracking, the accuracy has been checked by comparing against the known oscillation frequency of the sphere. Pinch‐off profiles corresponding to an initial two‐lobe geometry drop and D = 6 are also presented. Published in 2011 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A PLIC volume tracking method for the simulation of two‐fluid flows

Numerical methodologies for computer simulations of two‐fluid flows are presented. These methodologies fall into the category of volume tracking methods with piecewise‐linear interface calculation (PLIC). The scope of this work is limited to laminar flows of immiscible, non‐reacting, incompressible Newtonian fluids, without phase change, in planar two‐dimensional geometries. The following novel or enhanced procedures are proposed: a parallelogram scheme for multidimensional advection of the volume‐fraction field; a circle‐fit technique for the orientation of the interface segments and the calculation of curvature; a novel contact angle treatment; and a staggered formulation for volumetric body forces that can accurately balance pressure forces in the vicinity of the interface. In addition, surface‐tension‐derived and hydrostatic‐derived pressure adjustments are introduced as a means of accurately calculating pressure forces in cells that contain the interface, so as to minimize the non‐physical flows that afflict many available volume tracking methods. The proposed method is validated using four test problems that involve simulations of pure advection, a static drop, an oscillating bubble, and a static meniscus. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A predictive model for impact response of viscoelastic polymers in drop tests

We show for the first time that a classical Hookean viscoelastic constitutive law for rubbery materials can predict the impact forces and deflections measured with a commercial drop tester when a mass, or tup with a flat impacting surface is dropped onto a flat pad of commercial impact-absorbing rubber. The viscoelastic properties of the rubber, namely the relaxation times and strengths, are obtained by a standard rheological linear-oscillatory test, and the equation of momentum transfer is then solved, using these measured parameters, assuming a uniaxial deflection of the pad during the impact. Good agreement between measured and predicted forces and deflections is obtained for a series of various drop heights, tup masses, impact areas, and pad thicknesses, as long as the deflection of the pad relative to its thickness is small or modest (<50% or so), and as long as the area of the pad is less than or equal to that of the tup. When the pad area is greater than the tup, forces are higher than predicted, unless an empirical factor is introduced to account for the nonuniaxial stretching of the ring of material that extends outside of the impact area. These results imply that the impact-absorbing properties of a rubbery polymeric material can be assessed by simply examining the material's linear viscoelastic spectrum.