Published 4 issues per year
ISSN Print: 0276-1459
ISSN Online: 1943-6181
Indexed in
ON FORMATION AND INSTABILITIES OF A LIQUID BELL
ABSTRACT
Formation of liquid bells by jet impingement on a hemispherical solid has been numerically simulated by implementing axisymmetric finite volume discretization on a quadtree adaptive grid. Piecewise linear interface tracking in the framework of the volume-of-fluid method is used to simulate the thin sheet generated by the aftermath of the jet-solid impact. The limits for the Weber number have been found within which stable bell shapes are obtained. Instabilities leading to bell rupture/shape distortion are examined using local velocity vectors and vorticity contours. An effort has been made to propose a generalized correlation for prediction of size in the case of stable and closed bells at different Reynolds number. The effect of variation in fluid viscosity, densities, and surface tension on the shape of the bell is studied. The bell shape has been found to be very sensitive to the surface tension. The density ratio between the fluid and medium affects the bell length while the effect of the fluid's dynamic viscosity is generally minimal except for very high viscosity liquids, which lead to conical bells.