Walls and domain shape effects on the thermal Marangoni migration of three-dimensional droplets

Abstract

The thermocapillary motion of liquid droplets in fluid media depends on a variety of influential factors, including the not yet fully understood role played by the presence of the walls and other geometrical constraints. In order to address this specific question, in the present work, we rely on a rigorous mathematical and numerical framework (including an adaptive mesh strategy), which is key to perform physically consistent and computationally reliable simulations of such a problem given the different space scales it involves. Our final aim is the proper discernment of the triadic relationship established among viscous phenomena, thermal effects, and other specific behaviour due to the proximity of the droplet to a solid boundary. Different geometric configurations are considered (e.g., straight, converging, and diverging channels and droplets located near a single or adjacent walls), and distinct regimes are examined [including both (Ma, Re) → 0 and finite Ma flows]. The results show that for straight ...