Liquid water film on the outer surface of a half-submerged rotating drum

Abstract

In this study, a two-dimensional computational model describing the rise and development of thin liquid water film on a rotating drum is presented. The liquid water flow is predicted by solving the Navier–Stoke equation using computational fluid dynamics neglecting the end effects of the rotating drum side wall along width. The liquid film on a half-submerged rotating drum was modeled by volume of fluid to determine the thickness and quality of the liquid film on a rotating drum. Computational results show that the liquid film on the rising side is smooth, whereas the film on the plunging point is complex. For a 300 r/min of 75 mm rotating drum, it takes ∼300 ms to develop the film from the rising point to fall to the plunging point. Air is entrained in plunging side by the falling film from the rising side.