Study on Spreading of Liquid Droplet Impacting on a Solid Dry Surface

Abstract

A numerical computation and theoretical model are presented on spreading of a single droplet impacting on a solid surface at low Weber number. The numerical simulation uses combined Level Set-VOF method and a precise wetting model. The singularity at the moving contact line was analyzed and removed by present wetting model. A theoretical model based on the energy balance was developed to predict the maximum spreading ratio, accounting for wetting effect by a correction factor. The droplets shapes, the dimensionless spreading radius and the dimensionless height of droplet calculated by present numerical method were compared with the experimental data. The theoretical model is used to predict the maximum spreading ratio. The numerical and theoretical results agree well with the experimental data. Present theoretical model indicates that capillary effects may be neglected if 6We(We/3+4)>>Re.