A diffuse interface method is used to simulate two-phase flows with moving contact lines in 3D. The specific numerical issue is the validation of the method regarding the dynamics of moving contact lines in 3D. In particular, we aim to use the method to extend previous (2D and/or creeping-flow) work on sheardriven motion of a droplet on a wall to the full 3D problem, accounting for inertial eff...

The lattice-Boltzmann method was used for three-dimensional simulation of droplet breakup and coalescence in flow fields representative of those encountered in compounding of immiscible polymer blends. Quantitative confirmation of droplet deformation in simple shear was conducted using this method, and showed very good agreement with theoretical results. Droplet breakup in simple shear was simu...

Droplets on insulators in outdoor high-voltage equipment move and leave water films on the insulating material. These films further the development of undesirable electric currents or even flash-overs. The paper deals with the behaviour of a single droplet laying on a solid support in a strong electric field. Inside the solid support two electrodes generate the electric field. Although the expe...

A novel computational fluid dynamics and molecular kinetic theory (CFD-MK) method was developed to simulate the impingement of a nanodroplet onto a solid surface. A numerical solution of the Navier–Stokes equation using a volume-of-fluid (VOF) technique was used to model nanodroplet deformation. Dynamic contact angle during droplet impact was obtained by molecular kinetic theory. This dynamic c...

The evolution of linear arrays of rigid spheres and deformable drops in a Poiseuille flow between parallel walls is investigated to determine the effect of particle deformation on the collective dynamics in confined particulate flows.Wefind that linear arrays of rigid spheres aligned in the flowdirection exhibit a particlepairing instability and are unstable to lateral perturbations. Linear arr...

We have performed experiments on model emulsions of polyisobutylene (PIB) and poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) to quantify the effect of confinement on deformation and stability under flow of droplets and strings (threads). It is known from earlier work from our group that, under confinement, droplets in concentrated emulsions can coalesce with each other and elongate in the flow direction to form...

Recent experimental developments have enabled the measurement of dynamical forces between two moving liquid drops in solution using an atomic force microscope (AFM). The drop sizes, interfacial tension, and approach velocities used in the experiments are in a regime where surface forces, hydrodynamics, and drop deformation are all significant. A detailed theoretical model of the experimental se...

Commercial aerodynamic particle sizing instruments generally achieve the desired particle size measurement by accelerating a sample airstream in which the particles are suspended and measuring the velocity acquired by individual particles. The accelerating flow regime can cause liquid droplets to deform and this subsequently introduces errors. In this paper, we present an apparatus that enables...

In nanotechnology, small-volume metals with large surface area are used as electrodes, catalysts, interconnects and antennae. Their shape stability at room temperature has, however, been questioned. Using in situ high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, we find that Ag nanoparticles can be deformed like a liquid droplet but remain highly crystalline in the interior, with no sign of dis...

Emerging assays in droplet microfluidics require the measurement of parameters such as drop size, velocity, trajectory, shape deformation, fluorescence intensity, and others. While micro particle image velocimetry (μPIV) and related techniques are suitable for measuring flow using tracer particles, no tool exists for tracking droplets at the granularity of a single entity. This paper presents d...