Numerical Investigation of Viscoplastic Droplet Breakage in Airstream with Utilization of OpenFOAM®

Distortion and breakup mechanisms of viscoplastic drops (Carbopol water-gel), injected into a continuous air jet has been studies at the room temperature and atmospheric pressure. The three dimensional form of the motion equations was firstly solved and the Large Eddy Simulation (LES)/Volume of Fluid (VOF) technique with smoothing of volume fraction and adaptive mesh refinement was utilized to track the evolution of the gas-liquid free interface through the turbulent flow. The effects of concentration of viscoplastic solutions on breakup mechanism were numerically investigated at various Weber numbers. According to the results, the breakup mechanism of viscoplastic drops was qualitatively similar to Newtonian fluid drops. Moreover, the atomization patterns, dynamic drag coefficient, droplet velocity profiles and Sauter Mean Diameter (SMD) were considered in this study

Keywords:

Viscoplastic , secondary breakup , Large Eddy Simulation (LES)/Volume of Fluid (VOF) technique