A film flow model for analysing gravity-driven,thin wavy fluid films

To analyse the physics underlying gravity-driven runoff of thin wavy films, a film flow model is developed, and is solved with computational fluid dynamics. This model is based on the lubrication theory, and takes into account the gravitational, wall shear and surface tension forces. A key characteristic of the model is that it assumes only one computational cell over the film height, which enables studying film flow on larger computational domains. A main aim of this study is to perform a detailed validation of the numerical model. The film flow model is validated against several experiments of gravity-driven, thin fluid films on smooth surfaces. The time-averaged film thickness and the fluid speed profiles predicted by the model show very good agreement with experimental results. Similarly, the film flow model is able to predict the wave speeds with sufficient accuracy. The energy spectra of the waves, where higher frequency waves are present in film flows at higher Reynolds numbers, show an exponentially decaying trend at these high frequencies. The model performs better than the Nusselt equation for film flows, which under-predicts the time-averaged film thickness and over-predicts the time-averaged fluid speeds, even for flows at low Reynolds numbers. The film flow model is compared qualitatively for fingering behaviour. This model also allows to investigate film flows on large surfaces, which can be rough, curved and of complex geometrical shape.     

Rheology of thin films from flow observations

A major challenge regarding thin films is the characterization of their rheology and the measurement of the fluid physical parameters. For complex fluids, performing direct rheology measurements is extremely difficult considering the geometric characteristics of thin films. In this paper, we present a method for characterizing the film rheology based on measurements at regular time intervals of the film surface topography. These measures allow us, by solving an inverse problem, to validate a model of rheology for the thin fluid film and to determine the physical parameters specific to this model.     

Evaporation of Falling and Shear-Driven Thin Films on Smooth and Grooved Surfaces

One of the most important tasks in development of modern gas turbine combustors is the reduction of NO_x emissions. An effective way to reduce the NO_x emission is using the lean premixed prevaporization (LPP) concept. An important phenomenon taking place in LPP chambers is the evaporation of thin fuel films. To increase the fuel evaporation rate, the use of microstructured walls has been suggested. The wall microstructures make use of the capillary forces to evenly distribute the liquid fuel over the wall, so that the appearance of uncontrolled dry patches can be avoided. Moreover, the wall structures promote the thin film evaporation characterized by ultra-high evaporation rates. An experimental setup was built for the investigation of thin liquid films falling down on the outer surface of vertical tubes with either a smooth or structured surface. In the first testing phase water is used, fuel like liquids will be used later on. The thin film can be heated from both sides, by hot oil flowing inside the tube, and by hot compressed air flowing in co-current direction to the thin film. The film is partly evaporated along the flow. Results for the wavy film structure at different Reynolds numbers are reported. For theoretical investigations a model describing the hydrodynamics and heat transfer due to evaporation of the gravity- and shear-driven undisturbed liquid film on structured surfaces was developed. For low Reynolds numbers or low liquid mass fluxes the wall surface is only partly covered with liquid and the heat transfer is shown to be governed by the evaporation of the ultra-thin film in the vicinity of the three-phase contact line. A numerical model for the solution of a two-dimensional free-surface flow of a liquid film over a structured wall was also developed. The Navier–Stokes equations are solved using the Volume of Fluid (VOF) technique. The energy equation is included in the model. The model is verified by comparison with data from the literature showing favorable agreement. In particular, the proposed model predicts the formation of capillary waves observed in the experiments. The model is used to investigate the flow of liquid on a structured wall. This calculation is the first step towards the modeling of a three-dimensional wavy flow of a gravity- and shear-driven film along a wall with longitudinal grooves. It is found that due to the Marangoni effect, a circulating flow arises within the cavity, thereby leading to an enhancement in the evaporation rate.     

Measurements of velocity,temperature and velocity fluctuation distributions in falling liquid films

The velocity, temperature and velocity fluctuation distributions within falling spindle oil films in an inclined rectangular channel were measured using hot-wire techniques and thin thermocouples. The interfacial shear was caused by cocurrent air flow.The results indicate that the liquid films are as a whole much more laminar-like than turbulent in a range of Reynolds numbers (4γ/μ) up to the experimental limit of 6000. Mixing motion occurs in the vicinity of the interface; however, the flow near the wall surface exhibits no sign of such eddy motions, as predicted by the wall law for single phase turbulent flow. Although velocity fluctuation is observed within films with interfacial shear, mean velocity profiles are approximately the same as those obtained by the laminar film prediction.     

The combined influence of a rough surface and thin fluid film upon the splashing threshold and splash dynamics of a droplet impacting onto them

Surface roughness can have a critical effect upon the splashing threshold and dynamics of a drop impacting on either a dry or rough solid surface or one coated by a thin fluid film. As most coating applications and spray systems quickly evolve to a state where the droplets impinge upon fluid deposited by preceding droplets, the combined contributions of surface roughness and a pre-deposited thin liquid film of comparable thickness upon droplet impingement dynamics are examined. For comparison, we include results for droplets impacting on a smooth, dry surface and a smooth surface wetted by a thin fluid film. The inclusion of surface roughness considerably lowers the splashing threshold and alters the splashing dynamics such that differences in fluid surface tensions between 20.1 and 72.8 dynes/cm or viscosities between 0.4 and 3.3 cP have little effect.     

The splash/non-splash boundary upon a dry surface and thin fluid film

On the basis of empirical data, power-law boundary relations are formulated to delineate the splash and non-splash regions on dry surfaces or thin films under isothermal conditions, using the Ohnesorge and Reynolds numbers. Approximation of the relations permits cancellation of fundamental fluid physical constants to give simplified formulas which provide insight into the governing parameters describing splashing and non-splashing behaviors. Thus, for a droplet impinging upon a dry solid surface, the splash/non-splash border is well described by √Ca = 0.35. For a drop impinging upon a thin fluid film, the analytical simplification yields a boundary described by √We = 20. For both expressions, values greater than the numerical value result in splashing.     

Viscous incompressible flow in a narrow channel with one free wall and fluid supply through a porous insert

The problem investigated relates the plane unsteady flow of a viscous incompressible fluid in a narrow channel one of whose walls is free and acted upon by a given load, while the other is rigidly fixed. The fluid enters the channel through a porous insert in the stationary wall. A model of the flow of a thin film of viscous incompressible fluid and Darcy's law for flow in a porous medium are used to find the distribution of fluid pressure and velocity in the channel and the porous insert in the two-dimensional formulation for fairly general boundary conditions in the case where the length of the porous insert exceeds the length of the free wall. In the particular case where the length of the porous insert is equal to the length of the free wall an exact stationary solution of the problem is obtained for a given value of the channel height. The stability of the equilibrium position of the free wall supported on a hydrodynamic fluid film is examined.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Mekhanika Zhidkosti i Gaza, No. 1, pp. 16–24, January–February, 1986.     

Numerical study of flow and heat transfer during a high-speed micro-drop impact on thin liquid films

Numerical simulation of high-speed micro-droplet impingement on thin liquid film covering a heated solid surface has been carried out. Effect of droplet Weber number and liquid film thickness on the characteristics of flow and heat transfer has been investigated using the coupled level set and volume of fluid method. The code is validated against both the experimental and numerical results from the literature. Results show that the crown dynamics is mostly affected by variations in the initial film thickness but is weakly influenced by changes in the Weber number. The liquid within the film can be categorized as three regions based on the heat transfer distribution: the static film region, the transition region, and the impact region. The transient local wall temperature shows three stages: first stage when the temperature decreases rapidly, followed by a second stage in which the temperature starts to rise and then becomes almost constant in the third stage. After drop impact, the local Nusselt number continuously increases until reaching a maximum value, and then decreases approaching the initial impact stage. Our analysis of the change in Weber number shows that larger Weber number contributes to intense temperature variation at the crater core relative to other radial locations. Lastly, the results reveal that the thinner liquid film leads to lower wall temperature and hence, higher average Nusselt number.     

Surfactant spreading on thin viscous films: film thickness evolution and periodic wall stretch

Surfactant spreading on thin viscous films is of interest in the context of surfactant and liquid transport in the lungs, for both normal lung function and treatment of disease, as well as for many industrial processes. This paper presents experimental techniques for the measurement of film deformations due to spreading surfactant and for the investigation of the effects of periodic stretching of the wall supporting the thin film to mimic airway wall motion in the lung due to breathing. Additionally, we present results from both types of experiments, which agree favorably with our theoretical work.     

Asymptotic model of slow three-dimensional liquid film flow in a space drop catcher

Slow steady-state film flows formed on the inner surface of a drop catcher funnel due to inertial deposition of drops of a dispersed working matter in the spacecraft cooling system are considered. A limiting asymptotic model of slow three-dimensional coolant film flow is constructed assuming that the deposited drops transfer all their mass, momentum, and energy to the film described by the equations of creeping viscous fluid flow in a thin layer of a priori unknown thickness. A first-order quasi-linear partial differential equation for the film thickness is derived. The shape of the film surface is investigated numerically as a function of parameters using the method of characteristics. The range of optimum parameters ensuring the steady-state film flow is found. The limits of existence of the solutions corresponding to the limiting model proposed are investigated.     

Stress and Moisture Effects on Thin Film Buckling Delamination

Deposition processes control the properties of thin films; they can also introduce high residual stresses, which can be relieved by delamination and fracture. Tungsten films with high 1–2 GPa compressive residual stresses were sputter deposited on top of thin (below 100 nm) copper and diamond-like carbon (DLC) films. Highly stressed films store large amounts of strain energy. When the strain energy release rate exceeds the films' interfacial toughness, delamination occurs. Compressive residual stresses cause film buckling and debonding, forming open channels. Profiles of the buckling delaminations were used to calculate the films' interfacial toughness and then were compared to the adhesion results obtained from the superlayer indentation test. Tests were conducted in both dry and wet environments and a significant drop in film adhesion, up to 100 times was noticed due to the presence of moisture at the film/substrate interface.     

Investigation into thin films under microgravity

Thin films are interesting for practical as well as for theoretical reasons. As fluid science and materials science in space have been developing rapidly in recent years, investigation into thin films under microgravity conditions grants this classical topic new research ideas and new application possibilities. This paper first gives an overview about the investigation into thin liquid films and its solidification in the past. Then a discussion leads to microgravity in relevance to thin film research; specially, the influence of gravity on the thin film drainage. Some results from our research program are then presented. Finally, the authors tried to point out several possible directions in the research on thin films under microgravity in the near future. in memory of Prof. L. G. Napolitano     

Experimental study of nucleate boiling heat transfer under low gravity conditions using TLCs for high resolution temperature measurements

Heat transfer in nucleate boiling is strongly influenced by a very small circular area in the vicinity of the three phase contact line where a thin liquid film approaches the heated wall. This area is characterised by high evaporation rates which trigger a local temperature drop in the wall. The wall temperature drop can be computed using an existing nucleate boiling model. To verify the complex model and the underlying assumptions, an experiment was designed with an artificial nucleation site in a thin electrically heated wall featuring a two-dimensional, high resolution temperature measurement technique using unencapsulated thermochromic liquid crystals and a high speed colour camera. The shape of the bubble is observed simultaneously with a second high speed camera. Experiments were conducted in a low gravity environment of a parabolic flight, causing larger bubble departure diameters than in normal gravity environments. Thus, it was possible to measure the evolution of the predicted temperature drop in a transient boiling process.     

The effect of hydrodynamic coupling on the thinning of a film between a drop and its homophase

The rate of thinning of a film trapped between a drop approaching its homophase according to a model incorporating hydrodynamic coupling is dramatically different from earlier, uncoupled models. Implications for film thinning of microflows analyzed in the preceding paper are here investigated using similar analytical methods to derive a nonautonomous, nonlinear evolution equation for the film thickness which has been solved numerically under a variety of conditions after asymptotic analytical behavior has been extracted. The applied force squeezing the film, together with the initial motion in the three phases, determines the rate of film thinning in a complicated manner through the coupling parameter R = (ρ_Aμ_A/ρ_Bμ_B)^{$\text{1}\text{2}$}. Experimental observations that normal drop circulation enhances thinning, whereas reversed drop circulation can cause thickening, are predicted theoretically for the first time. Films much more viscous than their surroundings are found to thin faster than the converse case, a conclusion at odds with offhand intuition but substantiated experimentally; both classes of systems behave differently, often qualitatively so, from predictions of hydrodynamically decoupled systems, and in particular film thinning rates are generally faster because of less resistance to drainage, although the limit of vanishing R does recover the special case of Reynolds' model. For short times, films are shown analytically to thin more rapidly if there is initially outward film motion and normal drop circulation, but with decreasing effectiveness as R increases, in contrast to the effect of R for intermediate and longer times; if there is initially inward film motion, thickening tendencies are enhanced by reverse drop circulation but with decreasing effectiveness as R increases. These and other detailed conclusions, most predicted theoretically for the first time, are not only in qualitative agreement with experimental observations, they are in quantitative agreement with available data.     

Wave regimes on a film of generalized Newtonian fluid flowing down a vertical plane

The flow of a thin film of generalized Newtonian fluid down a vertical wall in the gravity field is considered. For small flow-rates, in the long-wave approximation, an equation describing the evolution of the surface perturbations is obtained. Depending on the signs of the coefficients, this equation is equivalent to one of four equations with solutions significantly different in evolutionary behavior. For the most interesting case, soliton solutions are numerically found.     

FLOW-INDUCED VIBRATION OF FREE EDGES OF THIN FILMS

During manufacturing processes of thin materials such as paper, photographic film, and magnetic film, which are handled as continuous sheets and subjected to drying air-flows, the interaction of the air with the web can cause the free edges to vibrate violently. This phenomenon is related to the waving motion of a flag in the wind, except that the thin films under consideration are under tension in the direction of the air-flow or at right angles to it. A travelling-wave analysis was done based on incompressible potential-flow theory; the critical flow speed, wave speed, wavelength, and flutter frequency were predicted. A closed-form solution of the critical flow speed is suggested. Experiments were carried out with stationary thin films mounted in a wind tunnel where the direction of tension was perpendicular to the flow direction. It was shown that the analysis, which assumes that the film is infinitely long in the flow direction, could successfully predict the critical flow speed above which violent edge vibrations occur.     

Impact dynamics of drops on thin films of viscoelastic wormlike micelle solutions

The impact dynamics of water drops on thin films of viscoelastic wormlike micelle solutions is experimentally studied using a high-speed digital video camera at frame rates up to 4000 frame/s. The composition and thickness of the thin film is modified to investigate the effect of fluid rheology on the evolution of crown growth, the formation of satellite droplets and the formation of the Worthington jet. The experiments are performed using a series of wormlike micelle solutions composed of a surfactant, cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), and a salt, sodium salicylate (NaSal), in deionized water. The linear viscoelastic shear rheology of the wormlike micelle solutions is well described by a Maxwell model with a single relaxation time while the steady shear rheology is found to shear thin quite heavily. In transient homogeneous uniaxial extension, the wormlike micelle solutions demonstrate significant strain hardening. The size and velocity of the impacting drop is varied to study the relative importance of Weber, Ohnesorge, and Deborah numbers on the impact dynamics. The addition of elasticity to the thin film fluid is found to suppress the crown growth and the formation of satellite drops with the largest effects observed at small film thicknesses. A new form of the splashing threshold is postulated which accounts for the effects of viscoelasticity and collapses the satellite droplet data onto a single master curve dependent only on dimensionless film thickness and the underlying surface roughness. Additionally, a plateau is observed in the growth of the maximum height of the Worthington jet height with increasing impact velocity. It is postulated that the complex behavior of the Worthington jet growth is the result of a dissipative mechanism stemming from the scission of wormlike micelles.     

Flooding and upward film flow in tubes—I. Experimental studies

New data are presented on the details of the flooding process and upward film flow including film and entrainment flow rates, film structure, pressure drop, sd well as interfacial and wall shear. These data are used to explore the mechanism of flooding and upward film flow in part II.     

On one slip condition for the equations of a viscous fluid

By studying the joint flow of a viscous and a micropolar fluid, we obtained a new boundary condition for the equations of the viscous fluid for the case where a thin layer of a granular fluid is present on the interface with the solid. Examples of using this condition in problems of drilling mud flow in the presence of a mud cake on the borehole wall are given.     

Emulsion stability: an analysis of the effects of bulk and interfacial properties on film mobility and drainage rate

A hydrodynamic model is developed to predict the kinetics of thinning of emulsion films, such as those existing between two approaching liquid droplets or a drop coalescing at a bulk interface. The present analysis includes the effects of surfactants present in both the film and the drop phases, interfacial tension, interfacial viscosities and their gradients at the liquid-liquid interface on the rate of film drainage. The analysis accounts for the flow in the drop as well as in the film phases. The theoretical predictions are in good agreement with the limited experimental results of Traykov et al. (1977).