Breakup of a liquid rivulet falling over an inclined plate: Identification of a critical Weber number

Singh, Rajesh K.; Galvin, Janine E.; Whyatt, Greg A.; Sun, Xin

doi:10.1063/1.4981920

Breakup of a liquid rivulet falling over an inclined plate: Identification of a critical Weber number

Journal Article · Thu May 04 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Physics of Fluids

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4981920· OSTI ID:1356496

^[1]; Galvin, Janine E. ^[1]; Whyatt, Greg A. ^[2]; Sun, Xin ^[2]

National Energy Technology Lab., Albany, OR (United States)
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

Here, we have numerically investigated the breakup of a rivulet falling over a smooth inclined plate using the volume of fluid method. The breakup the rivulet is a complex phenomenon that is dictated by many factors, such as solvent properties, contact angle, inertia, plate inclination, etc. An extensive simulation campaign was conducted wherein these factors were systematically investigated. Regimes for a stable rivulet and an unstable rivulet that leads to the breakup and formation of a droplet are examined in terms of a critical value of the Weber number (We_cr) that delineates these regimes. The effect of plate inclination on the breakup of the rivulet shows that the critical Weber number decreases with increased inclination angle (θ) owing to higher liquid velocity. However, the effect is negligible beyond θ > 60°. The impact of solvent properties is characterized using the Kapitza number (Ka). Variation of We_cr with Ka shows two trends depending on the Ka value of the solvent. Solvents with lower Ka values, corresponding to high viscosities and/or low surface tensions, show smaller values of the critical Weber number and the variation is linear. While solvents with higher Ka values exhibit higher values of the We_cr and the variation in We_cr is steep. This behavior is more pronounced with increasing contact angle. Higher contact angles promote rivulet breakup so that inertia must be higher to the breakup. As a result, a phenomenological scaling for a critical Weber number with the Kapitza number and contact angle is presented that can offer insight into rivulet breakup.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE

Grant/Contract Number:: AC05-76RL01830

OSTI ID:: 1356496

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1467013
OSTI ID: 1987938

Report Number(s):: PNNL-SA--122512; AA9010100

Journal Information:: Physics of Fluids, Journal Name: Physics of Fluids Journal Issue: 5 Vol. 29; ISSN 1070-6631

Publisher:: American Institute of Physics (AIP)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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