arXiv subjects

Dirk Gründing

Publications and source records attributed to Dirk Gründing.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2023

Imaging and simulation-based analysis of evaporation flows over wetting edges

We monitor the evaporation of a volatile liquid (ethanol) from an inkjet-printed liquid film, consisting of a mixture of ethanol and ethylene glycol. Interferometric video imaging technology is used for recording 2D vapor concentration profiles over the evaporating film. The vapor flow is reconstructed using numerical simulations. In this way, we reconstruct the complete flow velocity profile, and distinguish diffusive and convective gas transport flows, with quantitative tracking of the transport balances. The convective flows are driven by the buoyancy of the solvent vapor in the ambient air. In particular, we reconstruct the evaporation process from the interface of the two-component liquid. We monitor the evaporation flows, implement Raoult's and Henry's laws of vapor pressure reduction, as well as evaporation resistivity. We observe the edge-enhancement of evaporation flows at the wetting rims of the liquid film, and decompose the vapor flows in the diffusive and the convective contribution. We demonstrate how Langmuir's evaporation resistivity can be identified using vapor pressure profiles in the gas phase data and mass transfer balances.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2022

Computing volume fractions and signed distances from triangulated surfaces immersed in unstructured meshes

Available algorithms for the initialization of volume fractions typically utilize exact functions to model fluid interfaces, or they rely on computationally costly intersections between volume meshes. Here, a new algorithm is proposed that computes signed distances and volume fractions on unstructured meshes from arbitrarily shaped surfaces, e.g. originating from experimental data. The proposed algorithm calculates signed distances geometrically near the fluid interface, approximated as a triangle surface mesh, and propagates the inside/outside information by an approximate solution of a Laplace equation. Volume fractions are computed based on signed distances, using either geometrical intersections between cells of the unstructured mesh and a sub-set of the surface mesh that represents the interface, or using a polynomial approximation and adaptive mesh refinement. Although primarily developed for multiphase flow simulations, the proposed algorithm can potentially be used for other problems that require a phase-indicator: inside/outside information with respect to an arbitrarily shaped surface on arbitrarily unstructured meshes.

physics.comp-ph↗

arXiv2021

Breakup Dynamics of Capillary Bridges on Hydrophobic Stripes

The breakup dynamics of a capillary bridge on a hydrophobic stripe between two hydrophilic stripes is studied experimentally and numerically using direct numerical simulations. The capillary bridge is formed from an evaporating water droplet wetting three neighboring stripes of a chemically patterned surface. By considering the breakup process in a phase space representation, the breakup dynamics can be evaluated without the uncertainty in determining the precise breakup time. The simulations are based on the Volume-of-Fluid (VOF) method implemented in Free Surface 3D (FS3D). In order to construct physically realistic initial data for the VOF simulation, Surface Evolver is employed to calculate an initial configuration consistent with experiments. Numerical instabilities at the contact line are reduced by a novel discretization of the Navier-slip boundary condition on staggered grids. The breakup of the capillary bridge cannot be characterized by a unique scaling relationship. Instead, at different stages of the breakup process different scaling exponents apply, and the structure of the bridge undergoes a qualitative change. In the final stage of breakup, the capillary bridge forms a liquid thread that breaks up consistently with the Rayleigh-Plateau instability.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2020

A geometry-based model for spreading drops applied to drops on a silicon wafer and a swellable polymer brush film

We investigate the dynamics of spreading in a regime where the shape of the drop is close to a spherical cap. The latter simplification is applicable in the late (viscous) stage of spreading for highly viscous drops with a diameter below the capillary length. Moreover, it applies to the spreading of a drop on a swellable polymer brush, where the complex interaction with the substrate leads to a very slow spreading dynamics. The spherical cap geometry allows to derive a closed ordinary differential equation (ODE) for the spreading if the capillary number is a function of the contact angle as it is the case for empirical contact angle models. The latter approach has been introduced by de Gennes (Reviews of Modern Physics, 1985) for small contact angles. In the present work, we generalize the method to arbitrary contact angles. The method is applied to experimental data of spreading water-glycerol drops on a silicon wafer and spreading water drops on a PNIPAm coated silicon wafer. It is found that the ODE-model is able to describe the spreading kinetics in the case of partial wetting. Moreover, the model can predict the spreading dynamics of spherical cap-shaped droplets if the relationship between the contact angle and the capillary number is universal.

physics.flu-dyn↗