Experimental Research on Thermocapillary-Buoyancy Migration Interaction of Axisymmetric Two Drops by Using Digital Holographic Interferometry

Abstract

The migration and interaction of axisymmetric two drops in a vertical temperature gradient is investigated experimentally on the ground. A silicon oil is used as the continuous phase, and a water-ethanol mixture is used as the drop phase, respectively. The migration and interaction of two drops, under the combined effects of buoyancy and thermocapillary, is recorded by a digital holographic interferometry measurement in the experiment to analyse the velocities and temperature distribution of the drops. As a result, when two drops migrate together, the drop affects the other drop by perturbing the temperature field around itself. For the leading drop, the velocity is faster than the one of the isolated drop, and the maximum of the interfacial temperature distribution is larger than the one of the isolated drop. For the trailing drop, the velocity is slower than the one of the isolated drop, and the maximum of the interfacial temperature distribution is less than the one of the isolated drop. The influence of the dimensionless initial distance between the drop centres to the drop migration is discussed in detail in this study.