Modeling droplets with slippery interfaces

Many multiphase fluid systems, such as those involving immiscible polymers or liquidliquid systems with surfactants, have shown a breakdown of the no-slip condition at the material interface. This results in systems where the tangential velocity of the inner and outer fluid can differ, with the jump in velocity dependent not only on the material properties of the interface but also the stresses applied by the surrounding fluid. In this work a numerical model is presented which is capable of investigating general multiphase fluid systems involving interfacial slip in both two- and three-dimensions. To make the system computationally feasible, a hybrid Navier-Stokes projection method is used, whereby the viscosity, density, and pressure are assumed to be continuous across the interface while the velocity field can experience a jump, which is handled via the Immersed Interface Method. The numerical model is compared to experimental results involving polymer-polymer mixtures and computational results for droplets in extensional flows, showing excellent agreement with both. It is then used to explore the influence of interfacial slip in a number of common multiphase fluid systems, including the shearing of a planar interface, droplet and filament relaxation, and droplets in shear flow, both unbounded and wall-bound.

Automated summary

Many multiphase fluid systems exhibit a breakdown of the no-slip condition at the material interface, causing a difference in tangential velocity between the inner and outer fluid. A numerical model is presented to investigate these systems in both two- and three-dimensions, using a hybrid Navier-Stokes projection method and the Immersed Interface Method. The model shows excellent agreement with experimental and computational results, and is able to explore the influence of interfacial slip in various multiphase fluid systems.