Computational Simulation of Droplet Deformation, Orientation, and Migration in the Vicinity of a Wall Boundary

In this work, motion of a deformable droplet in linear unidirectional shear flow, close to a fixed wall, is studied, using the front tracking method (FTM) for droplet Reynolds number of about zero. This problem is solved numerically to find out the limitations of axisting analitical models and to show the ability of our numerical methodology. The lateral and the longitudinal velicities of the droplet, caused by the presence of the wall, were computed and compared to the analytical approximations. Although analytical methods give reasonable predictions, large deviationa occur at small wall distances and at large droplet deformations. This is mainly due to the fact that the altered orientation and deformation of the droplet, arising from the presence of a wall, is disregarded in analytcal models.

Keywords:

Front Tracking Method , Droplet Dynamics , Wall Effects , Stokes Flow