Analysis of coalescence behavior for compressed droplets

Abstract

Coalescence of droplets is a significant phenomenon, and it has been adapted to many applications such as raindrop formation, emulsion polymerization, ink-jet printing, coating, and multiphase flows. In this study, the morphological characteristics of two compressed adjacent droplets between two parallel plates were investigated to study the phenomenon of coalescence of droplets. By controlling the distance of the dispensed droplets, various results for coalescence of droplets were evaluated, especially, from the view of the minor axis, major axis, and meniscus liquid bridge of the coalesced droplet. Experimental results show that the length of the meniscus liquid bridge rapidly increases and then the rate of increase slows with time. The increase rate of the major and minor axes is largely influenced by the meniscus liquid bridge, which is mainly due to the curvature between the droplets. The numerical modeling of the coalescence of the two compressed droplets between two parallel plates was presented and simulation was conducted to realize the coalescence behavior. Comparison with numerical simulation showed that there was a good agreement with the experimental results. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.