Open Access

ARTICLE

Computational Studies on the Transient Electrohydrodynamics of a Liquid Drop

Md. Abdul Halim¹, Asghar Esmaeeli²

1 Department of Mechanical Engineering & Energy Processes, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale, IL 62901.
2 Corresponding author. Tel.: 618-453-7001; Fax: 618-453-7001; E-mail: esmaeeli@engr.siu.edu

Fluid Dynamics & Materials Processing 2013, 9(4), 435-460. https://doi.org/10.3970/fdmp.2013.009.435

Abstract

This study aims to gain a detailed understanding of the transient behavior of solitary liquid drops in electric fields at finite Reynolds number. A front tracking/finite difference method, in conjunction with Taylor-Melcher leaky dielectric model, is used to solve the governing electrohydrodynamic equations. The evolution of the flow field and drop deformation is studied for a few representative fluid systems, corresponding to the different regions of the deformation-circulation map. It is shown that for the range of the physical parameters used here, the deformationtime history is governed by one time scale while the fluid flow (characterized by kinetic energy) is governed by two or more time scales. The effect of the material property ratios and the wall on the electrohydrodynamics of the drop is also investigated.

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