Mechanism investigation of coalescence behaviors of conducting droplets by molecular dynamics simulations

Abstract

In the presence of an electric field, three different coalescence behaviors of two conducting droplets (complete, partial, and non-coalescence) can occur by adjusting the strength of the electric field. Besides the strength of the electric field, the ionic concentration of droplets is also a major influencing factor for the coalescence behaviors. However, the mechanisms governing the coalescence behaviors have not been fully understood. In this study, the mechanism is investigated by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and the ionic concentration, which has never been studied in MD simulations of coalescence behaviors, is also considered. Results show that the strength of the electric field and the ionic concentration of droplets affect the ionic distribution in droplets. The electric field strength also affects the charge transfer rate between droplets. Thus, the variations of electric field strength combined with droplet ionic concentration cause different coalescence behaviors of two conducting droplets. Moreover, simulations of partial coalescence at different droplet ionic concentration show that the size of daughter droplet is independent of the ionic concentration. This finding is in good agreement with the experimental results.