Modelling of high pressure binary droplet collisions

AbstractDroplet collision efficiency is a rather uncharted area for real hydrocarbon systems under non-atmospheric conditions. It is also of great interest in many industrial applications. In this work binary head-on droplet collisions at high pressure have been simulated using the lattice Boltzmann method. A model that captures the physics of the coalescence process is used where no external criterion for coalescence is needed. The collision process is described in terms of hydrodynamic variables and through a quantitative study of energy loss. At high pressures, low inertia collisions are the most frequent. Distinguishing between bouncing and coalescence under these conditions is needed in order to provide closure conditions for macroscopic CFD models. A limit of Re<170ρlg is found to predict coalescence in all the cases simulated. In addition this paper explains the stochastic behaviour of low inertia coalescence at high pressure. This has major implications both when building macroscopic models for predicting industrial process efficiencies and in the optimization of equipment internals working with droplets at high pressure as is the case for combustion chambers and gas–liquid separators

Three-dimensional micro-droplet collision simulation using the Lattice Boltzmann method

This paper was presented at the 3rd Micro and Nano Flows Conference (MNF2011), which was held at the Makedonia Palace Hotel, Thessaloniki in Greece. The conference was organised by Brunel University and supported by the Italian Union of Thermofluiddynamics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University of Thessaly, IPEM, the Process Intensification Network, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Heat Transfer Society, HEXAG - the Heat Exchange Action Group, and the Energy Institute.The modelling of binary droplet collisions has important applications in many engineering problems, including spray coating and fuel injection. The Lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) is a well established technique for modelling multiphase fluids, and does so without the difficulties of explicit interface tracking found in other CFD methods. However, simulating droplet collisions under realistic conditions remains a complex problem. Challenges include reproducing the different collision outcomes observed experimentally (Qian and Law, 1997), and maintaining a stable simulation at sufficiently high Reynolds and Weber numbers, and with a high density ratio between the liquid and gas phases. Although previous studies have achieved these goals individually, they have not been successfully combined to simulate droplet collisions with realistic physical parameters. A number of different methods for extending the LBM for multiphase flow exist, with the Shan-Chen interparticle potential method (Shan and Chen, 1993) being the basic model used here. Many extensions to improve the original Shan-Chen method have been proposed, to improve achievable Reynolds number and density ratio. Using combinations of these, both coalescence and separation of two-dimensional droplets were successfully simulated at density ratios of order 1000, and high Weber numbers (Lycett-Brown et al., 2011). In this study, the developed methodologies in Lycett-Brown et al. (2011) are extended to simulate three dimensional micro-droplet collisions by making use of the LBM’s excellent scalability on massively parallel computers. These high-resolution simulations are also compared with low-resolution three-dimensional simulations using a multiple-relaxation-time LBM approach (Monaco and Luo, 2008).This study is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council for Grant No. EP/I000801/1 and a HEC Studentship

Droplet collision simulation by multi-speed lattice Boltzmann method

Realization of the Shan-Chen multiphase flow lattice Boltzmann model is considered in the framework of the higher-order Galilean invariant lattices. The present multiphase lattice Boltzmann model is used in two dimensional simulation of droplet collisions at high Weber numbers. Results are found to be in a good agreement with experimental findings

An accurate, fast, mathematically robust, universal, non-iterative algorithm for computing multi-component diffusion velocities

Using accurate multi-component diffusion treatment in numerical combustion studies remains formidable due to the computational cost associated with solving for diffusion velocities. To obtain the diffusion velocities, for low density gases, one needs to solve the Stefan-Maxwell equations along with the zero diffusion flux criteria, which scales as $\mathcal{O}(N^3)$, when solved exactly. In this article, we propose an accurate, fast, direct and robust algorithm to compute multi-component diffusion velocities. To our knowledge, this is the first provably accurate algorithm (the solution can be obtained up to an arbitrary degree of precision) scaling at a computational complexity of $\mathcal{O}(N)$ in finite precision. The key idea involves leveraging the fact that the matrix of the reciprocal of the binary diffusivities, $V$, is low rank, with its rank being independent of the number of species involved. The low rank representation of matrix $V$ is computed in a fast manner at a computational complexity of $\mathcal{O}(N)$ and the Sherman-Morrison-Woodbury formula is used to solve for the diffusion velocities at a computational complexity of $\mathcal{O}(N)$. Rigorous proofs and numerical benchmarks illustrate the low rank property of the matrix $V$ and scaling of the algorithm.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, 1 table, 1 algorith

Modelling the Interfacial Flow of Two Immiscible Liquids in Mixing Processes

This paper presents an interface tracking method for modelling the flow of immiscible metallic liquids in mixing processes. The methodology can provide an insight into mixing processes for studying the fundamental morphology development mechanisms for immiscible interfaces. The volume-of-fluid (VOF) method is adopted in the present study, following a review of various modelling approaches for immiscible fluid systems. The VOF method employed here utilises the piecewise linear for interface construction scheme as well as the continuum surface force algorithm for surface force modelling. A model coupling numerical and experimental data is established. The main flow features in the mixing process are investigated. It is observed that the mixing of immiscible metallic liquids is strongly influenced by the viscosity of the system, shear forces and turbulence. The numerical results show good qualitative agreement with experimental results, and are useful for optimisating the design of mixing casting processes

Numerical analysis of the hydrodynamic behaviour of immiscible metallic alloys in twin-screw rheomixing process

A numerical analysis by a VOF method is presented for studying the hydrodynamic mechanisms of the rheomixing process by a twin-screw extruder (TSE). The simplified flow field is established based on a systematic analysis of flow features of immiscible alloys in TSE rheomixing process. The studies focus on the fundamental microstructure mechanisms of rheological behaviour in shear-induced turbulent flows. It is noted that the microstructure of immiscible alloys in the mixing process is strongly influenced by the interaction between droplets, which is controlled by shearing forces, viscosity ratio, turbulence, and shearing time. The numerical results show a good qualitative agreement with the experimental results, and are useful for further optimisation design of prototypical rheomixing processes

Eulerian Simulation of Interacting PWR Sprays Including Droplet Collisions

A numerical simulation of the interaction between two real pressurized water reactor containment sprays is performed with a new model implemented into the Eulerian computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code NEPTUNE_CFD. The water droplet polydispersion in size has been treated with a sectional approach. The influence of collisions between droplets is taken into account with a statistical approach based on the various outcomes of binary collision. Experiments were performed in a new facility, and data obtained are compared with this two-fluid simulation. The results show good agreement