Mathematical model for self-propelled droplets driven by interfacial tension

Journal Article · Mon Mar 21 00:00:00 EDT 2016 · Journal of Chemical Physics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4943582· OSTI ID:22660823

Nagai, Ken H. ^[1]; Tachibana, Kunihito; Tobe, Yuta; Kazama, Masaki ^[2]; Kitahata, Hiroyuki ^[3]; Omata, Seiro ^[4]; Nagayama, Masaharu ^[5]

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1. School of Materials Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1292 (Japan)
2. Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-1192 (Japan)
3. Department of Physics, Graduate School of Science, Chiba University, Chiba 263-8522 (Japan)
4. Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Ishikawa 920-1192 (Japan)
5. Research Institute for Electronic Science, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido 060-0812 (Japan)

We propose a model for the spontaneous motion of a droplet induced by inhomogeneity in interfacial tension. The model is derived from a variation of the Lagrangian of the system and we use a time-discretized Morse flow scheme to perform its numerical simulations. Our model can naturally simulate the dynamics of a single droplet, as well as that of multiple droplets, where the volume of each droplet is conserved. We reproduced the ballistic motion and fission of a droplet, and the collision of two droplets was also examined numerically.

• OSTI ID: 22660823
• Journal Information: Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 144, Issue 11; Other Information: (c) 2016 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-9606
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
37 INORGANIC
ORGANIC
PHYSICAL AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
DROPLETS
LAGRANGIAN FUNCTION
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
SURFACE TENSION