Shapes, stability and hysteresis of rotating and charged axisymmetric drops in vacuum
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Published version
Author(s)
Holgate, J
Coppins, Michael
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The behavior of rotating and/or charged drops is a classic problem in fluid mechanics with a multitude of industrial applications. Theoretical studies of such liquid drops have also provided important insights into fundamental physical processes across nuclear and astrophysical lengthscales. However, the full nonlinear dynamics of these drops are only just beginning to be uncovered by experiments. These nonlinear effects are manifest in the high sensitivity of the breakup mechanisms to small perturbations of the initial drop shape and in observations of hysteresis in the transition between different drop shape families. This paper investigates the equilibrium shapes and stability of charged and rotating drops in a vacuum with an energy minimization method applied to spheroidal shapes and with numerical simulations using a finite-difference, level-set method. A good working formula for the stability limit of these drops is given by Lmax = 1.15 − 0.59x − 0.56x2, where L is the dimensionless angular momentum and x is the charge fissility parameter. These methods also provide a firm explanation for the hysteresis of rotating and charged drops.
Date Issued
2018-06-29
Date Acceptance
2018-06-08
Citation
Physics of Fluids, 2018, 30 (6)
ISSN
1070-6631
Publisher
AIP Publishing
Journal / Book Title
Physics of Fluids
Volume
30
Issue
6
Copyright Statement
© 2018 Author(s). All article
content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)
license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
content, except where otherwise noted, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)
license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Sponsor
Engineering & Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC)
Grant Number
EP/M002721/1
Subjects
Science & Technology
Technology
Physical Sciences
Mechanics
Physics, Fluids & Plasmas
Physics
LEVEL SET METHODS
ELECTRIC-FIELD
LIQUID-DROPS
WATER DROPS
BREAK-UP
DEFORMATION
INJECTION
DYNAMICS
DISINTEGRATION
CONDENSATION
01 Mathematical Sciences
02 Physical Sciences
09 Engineering
Fluids & Plasmas
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
064107
Date Publish Online
2018-06-29