Journal
JOURNAL OF FLUID MECHANICS
Volume 925, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1017/jfm.2021.682
Keywords
breakup/coalescence; drops
Categories
Funding
- Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, United Kingdom - EPSRC [EP/L015579/1]
- EPSRC [EP/K003976/1, EP/T000414/1]
- BP through the BP International Centre for Advanced Materials (BP-ICAM)
- PETRONAS
- Royal Academy of Engineering
- GENCI (Grand Equipement National de Calcul Intensif) [2020 A0082B06721]
- EPSRC [EP/T000414/1, EP/K003976/1] Funding Source: UKRI
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This study investigates the impact of surfactants on drop-interface coalescence dynamics through full three-dimensional direct numerical simulations, highlighting the crucial role of Marangoni stresses in the flow physics of coalescence. Surfactant-laden cases were found to stiffen the interface compared to surfactant-free cases, providing insight into the observed surfactant-induced phenomena.
We study the effect of surfactants on the dynamics of a drop-interface coalescence using full three-dimensional direct numerical simulations. We employ a hybrid interface-tracking/level-set method, which takes into account Marangoni stresses that arise from surface-tension gradients, interfacial and bulk diffusion and sorption kinetic effects. We validate our predictions against the experimental data of Blanchette and Bigioni (Nat. Phys., vol. 2, issue 4, 2006, pp. 254-257) and perform a parametric study that demonstrates the delicate interplay between the flow fields and those associated with the surfactant bulk and interfacial concentrations. The results of this work unravel the crucial role of the Marangoni stresses in the flow physics of coalescence, with particular attention paid to their influence on the neck reopening dynamics in terms of stagnation-point inhibition, and near-neck vorticity generation. We demonstrate that surfactant-laden cases feature a rigidifying effect on the interface compared with the surfactant-free case, a mechanism that underpins the observed surfactant-induced phenomena.
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