Title: Two dimensional numerical simulations of a free-falling liquid gallium droplet in quiescent water

Authors: K. Sefiane; M.S. Bin Mohamad; R. Bennacer

Addresses: International Centre in Fundamental and Engineering Thermophysics, Tianjin University of Commerce, Guangrong Rd. 409, Beichen District, Tianjin 300134, China; School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh, King's Buildings, Edinburgh EH9 3BF, UK ' Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Technology, Universiti Malaysia Perlis, 02600 Arau, Perlis, Malaysia ' Université of Paris-Saclay, ENS Paris-Saclay, CNRS, LMT, Gif-sur-Yvette 91190, Paris, France

Abstract: In this study a Lattice Boltzman (LBM) approach is used to simulate free falling drops of liquid metal Gallium into a quiescent water column. The numerical simulations aimed at reproducing experimental observations of the deformations of the Gallium drops and its solutions during the fall. The developed code is first tested against literature for rising bubbles, which showed good agreement. The previously performed experimental investigations allowed the study of a falling liquid Gallium into a column of water to validate the simulations. Parameters such as size of the droplets and viscosity ratios are investigated in the simulations. Deformation mechanisms are explored by studying the instantaneous velocity and pressure field around the drop. A comparison between the numerical simulations and the experimental data showed a good agreement.

Keywords: liquid metals; hydrodynamics; falling drops; drag; LBM; interfaces; deformable objects; Gallium; heat and mass transfer; convection.

DOI: 10.1504/PCFD.2023.131028

Progress in Computational Fluid Dynamics, An International Journal, 2023 Vol.23 No.3, pp.183 - 196

Received: 09 Oct 2021
Accepted: 16 Apr 2022
Published online: 19 May 2023 *

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