Equilibrium shapes and stability of nonconducting pendant drops surrounded by a conducting fluid in an electric field

Journal Article · Wed Mar 15 04:00:00 EST 1995 · Journal of Colloid and Interface Science

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1006/jcis.1995.1107· OSTI ID:43127

Harris, M T; Basaran, O A ^[1]

---

1. Oak Ridge National Lab., TN (United States). Chemical Technology Division

The shapes and stability of pendant drops in the presence of an electric field is a classical problem in capillarity. This problem has been studied in great detail by numerous investigators when the drops are either perfect conductors or nonconductors and the surrounding fluid is a nonconductor. In this paper, the axisymmetric equilibrium shapes and stability of a nonconducting drop hanging from a nonconducting nozzle that is immersed in a perfectly conducting ambient fluid, a problem that has heretofore not been considered in the literature, are determined by solving the free boundary problem comprised of the Young-Laplace equation for drop shape and an integral equation for the electric field distribution. Here the free boundary problem is discretized by a hybrid technique in which the Young-Laplace equation is solved by the finite element method and the electrostatic problem solved by the boundary element method.

• DOE Contract Number: AC05-84OR21400
• OSTI ID: 43127
• Journal Information: Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Journal Name: Journal of Colloid and Interface Science Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 170; ISSN 0021-9797; ISSN JCISA5
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

40 CHEMISTRY
ATOMIZATION
DROPLETS
ELECTRIC FIELDS
ELECTROHYDRODYNAMICS
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
SHAPE
STABILITY