Large Weber Numbers Research Articles

Numerical study of two equal-sized miscible drops undergoing head-on collision

The numerical analysis focuses on investigating head-on collisions between two miscible drops composed of distinct fluids, specifically ethanol and water. The simulations are performed using a coupled level set and volume of fluid approach with different Weber numbers to study the effect of drop inertia. The code is validated against experimental and numerical results from earlier investigations. Additionally, a comparative study involving both water drops and ethanol–water drops is conducted to explore the impact of varying surface tension ratios on collision outcomes. Results show that when miscible drops collide, the merged liquid drop exhibits asymmetric behavior, such as an asymmetric combined drop shape in cases of permanent coalescence or an asymmetric end droplet breakup in cases of reflexive separation. The collision outcome undergoes significant variation as the Weber number changes. At lower Weber numbers, permanent coalescence is observed, while at medium Weber numbers, reflexive separation occurs without the formation of a secondary drop. For medium to large Weber numbers, reflexive separation with the generation of one secondary drop becomes prominent, and in the case of very large Weber numbers, multiple satellite drops form. The maximum vertical elongation of the merged drop and corresponding surface energy increase as the surface tension ratio rises, irrespective of the Weber number. However, for a fixed surface tension ratio, the maximum vertical elongation and associated surface energy vary with an increase in the Weber number. The findings also shed light on the enhanced internal mixing arising from the mismatched surface tension of the colliding drops as the Weber number increases. Furthermore, the study explores the effect of drop inertia on various aspects, including asymmetric collision behavior, energy budget, and mixing index.

Three-dimensional mesoscopic investigation of directional coalescence of two droplets impacting on a wall with wettability difference

In this work, a three-dimensional (3D) nonorthogonal pseudopotential lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) was proposed to investigate the coalescence dynamics of two droplets impacting on a wall with wettability difference. The influences of the wettability difference, Weber number, offset distance on the low-wettability side on the coalescence dynamics and the contact-line evolution processes were systematically examined. Both symmetric and asymmetric distributions of the droplet-coalescence behaviors were considered. Our findings reveal that the wettability difference has a significant influence on the asymmetric-retracting and wetting-equilibrium stages, identifying three modes: pin-slip, slip and no-rebound, and slip and rebound. The rebound time is dominated by the high-wettability wall. At a larger Weber number, droplets exhibit a large retracting velocity, which results in increased pumping velocity and earlier rebound time. In addition, a dramatic retraction of the three-phase contact line (TPCL) on the low-wettability wall is observed, leading to the detachment of the liquid bridge from the low-wettability wall, and the formation of a cavity. With increasing offset distance on the low-wettability wall, three different evolution modes are found: coalescence-rebound, coalescence-separation, and non-coalescence. A power function relationship is reported between the Weber number We and the offset distance L* both on the high-wettability wall and low-wettability wall for three modes of coalescence behavior with We∼L*α. The value of the exponent α ranges from 4.6 to 7.4. This study showcases the effectiveness of the 3D nonorthogonal pseudopotential LBM in predicting the complex interface phenomena and characteristics of the multiphase flow structures under investigation.

Bouncing Dynamics of Drops' Successive Off-Center Impact.

Bouncing dynamics of a trailing drop off-center impacting a leading drop with varying time intervals and Weber numbers are investigated experimentally. Whether the trailing drop impacts during the spreading or receding process of the leading drop is determined by the time interval. For a short time interval of 0.15 ≤ Δt* ≤ 0.66, the trailing drop impacts during the spreading of the leading drop, and the drops completely coalesce and rebound; for a large time interval of 0.66 < Δt* ≤ 2.21, the trailing drop impacts during the receding process, and the drops partially coalesce and rebound. Whether the trailing drop directly impacts the surface or the liquid film of the leading drop is determined by the Weber number. The trailing drop impacts the surface directly at moderate Weber numbers of 16.22 ≤ We ≤ 45.42, while it impacts the liquid film at large Weber numbers of 45.42 < We ≤ 64.88. Intriguingly, when the trailing drop impacts the surface directly or the receding liquid film, the contact time increases linearly with the time interval but independent of the Weber number; when the trailing drop impacts the spreading liquid film, the contact time suddenly increases, showing that the force of the liquid film of the leading drop inhibits the receding of the trailing drop. Finally, a theoretical model of the contact time for the drops is established, which is suitable for different impact scenarios of the successive off-center impact. This study provides a quantitative relationship to calculate the contact time of drops successively impacting a superhydrophobic surface, facilitating the design of anti-icing surfaces.

Vortex ring and bubble interaction: Effects of bubble size on vorticity dynamics and bubble dynamics

Bubbly turbulent flows involve complex interactions between bubbles and vortices, in which their size ratio plays a critical role. The present work investigates an idealization, namely, the interaction of a single air bubble with a (water) vortex ring, with the focus being on the effects of the bubble-to-vortex core size ratio (Db/Dc,o) on the bubble and ring dynamics (Db = bubble diameter and Dc,o = initial vortex core diameter). The interaction is studied for size ratio, Db/Dc,o, of 0.6–1.7, over a large Weber number range from 10 to 500 [We=0.87ρ(Γ/πDc,o)2/(σ/Db), Γ = circulation]. On the bubble dynamics side, in the initial stages of the interaction after the bubble's capture by the ring, the bubble's radial equilibrium position, its azimuthal elongation, and breakup pattern are influenced by both Db/Dc,o and We. However, at longer times, the results show that the We alone decides the broken bubbles to Db ratio and scales as We−0.13, which can be contrasted with the scaling of We−0.6 in isotropic turbulence [R. Shinnar, J. Fluid Mech. 10, 259–275 (1961)]. On the ring dynamics side, increasing Db/Dc,o leads to larger deformation of the vortex ring core at low We, and these effects are significant above a critical Db/Dc,o of about 1.2. Under these conditions, the vortex core can fragment, leading to large reductions in the ring's measured convection speed and axial enstrophy, both of which follow a similar scaling, (Db/Dc,o)2/We; the reduction in enstrophy being reminiscent of bubbly turbulent flows. These results and scalings should help us to better understand and model bubble–turbulence interactions.

Bouncing Regimes of Supercooled Water Droplets Impacting Superhydrophobic Surfaces with Controlled Temperature and Humidity.

Superhydrophobic surfaces have shown significant potential for the passive anti-icing application due to their unique water repellency. Reducing the contact time between the impacting droplets and the underlying surfaces with certain textures, especially applying the pancake bouncing mechanism, is expected to eliminate droplet icing upon impingement. However, the anti-icing performance of such superhydrophobic surfaces against the impact of supercooled water droplets has not yet been examined. Therefore, we fabricated a typical post-array superhydrophobic surface (PSHS) and a flat superhydrophobic surface (FSHS), to study the droplet impact dynamics on them with controlled temperature and humidity. The contact time and the bouncing behavior on these surfaces and their dependence on the surface temperature, Weber number, and surface frost were systematically investigated. The conventional rebound and full adhesion were observed on the FSHS, and the adhesion is mainly induced by the penetration of the droplet into the surface micro/nanostructures and the consequent Cassie-to-Wenzel transition. On the PSHS, four distinct regimes including pancake rebound, conventional rebound, partial rebound, and full adhesion were observed, where the contact time increases correspondingly. Over a certain Weber number range, the pancake rebound regime where the droplet bounces off the surface with a dramatically shortened contact time benefits the anti-icing performance. By further decreasing the surface temperature, the pancake rebound turns into the conventional rebound, where the droplet is not levitated after the capillary emptying process. Our scale analysis indicates that the frost between the posts reduces the capillary energy stored during the downward penetration, resulting in the failure of the pancake bouncing. A droplet adheres onto the frosted surface at sufficiently low temperature, especially at larger Weber numbers, on account of the coupling influence of droplet nucleation and wetting transition.

Numerical investigation of impacting heat transfer of binary droplets on superhydrophobic substrates

The droplet impacting on a substrate is widely encountered in daily life and industrial applications. In this paper, the impact dynamics and heat transfer are numerically simulated for both single droplet and binary droplets on a hot superhydrophobic substrate. The dimensionless numerical model is built up through the transient 2D axisymmetric model with a volume of fluid (VOF) model. The effect of the Weber number, Reynolds number, size ratio, contact angle on the spreading dynamics and heat transfer is investigated in details. It is found that the spreading factor and contact time increase with the increasing Weber number. Besides, the maximum spreading factor and contact time of binary droplets are larger than those of a single droplet under the same Reynolds and Weber numbers. The transient heat transfer rate of a single droplet is larger than that of binary droplets impingement due to larger spreading surface area-to-volume. The total input heat of a single droplet is generally larger than that of binary droplets except at large Weber numbers, and the equal-sized binary droplets have the larger total input heat than un-equal-sized binary droplets. For binary droplets impact on a hot superhydrophobic surface, the hot substrate can promote the spreading and retard the receding due to thermo-capillary effect, and thus will enhance heat transfer between the droplet and the hot substrate. These findings may be helpful in gaining insights into the dynamics and heat transfer of binary droplets impact on the hot substrate.

Fundamental time scales of bubble fragmentation in homogeneous isotropic turbulence

We investigate the fundamental time scales that characterise the statistics of fragmentation under homogeneous isotropic turbulence for air–water bubbly flows at moderate to large bubble Weber numbers, $We$ . We elucidate three time scales: $\tau _r$ , the characteristic age of bubbles when their subsequent statistics become stationary; $\tau _\ell$ , the expected lifetime of a bubble before further fragmentation; and $\tau _c$ , the expected time for the air within a bubble to reach the Hinze scale, radius $a_H$ , through the fragmentation cascade. The time scale $\tau _\ell$ is important to the population balance equation (PBE), $\tau _r$ is critical to evaluating the applicability of the PBE no-hysteresis assumption, and $\tau _c$ provides the characteristic time for fragmentation cascades to equilibrate. By identifying a non-dimensionalised average speed $\bar {s}$ at which air moves through the cascade, we derive $\tau _c=C_\tau \varepsilon ^{-1/3} a^{2/3} (1-(a_{max}/a_H)^{-2/3})$ , where $C_\tau =1/\bar {s}$ and $a_{max}$ is the largest bubble radius in the cascade. While $\bar {s}$ is a function of PBE fragmentation statistics, which depend on the measurement interval $T$ , $\bar {s}$ itself is independent of $T$ for $\tau _r \ll T \ll \tau _c$ . We verify the $T$ -independence of $\bar {s}$ and its direct relationship to $\tau _c$ using Monte Carlo simulations. We perform direct numerical simulations (DNS) at moderate to large bubble Weber numbers, $We$ , to measure fragmentation statistics over a range of $T$ . We establish that non-stationary effects decay exponentially with $T$ , independent of $We$ , and provide $\tau _r=C_{r} \varepsilon ^{-1/3} a^{2/3}$ with $C_{r}\approx 0.11$ . This gives $\tau _r\ll \tau _\ell$ , validating the PBE no-hysteresis assumption. From DNS, we measure $\bar {s}$ and find that for large Weber numbers ( $We&gt;30$ ), $C_{\tau }\approx 9$ . In addition to providing $\tau _c$ , this obtains a new constraint on fragmentation models for PBE.

Discussion on interface deformation and liquid breakup mechanism in vapor–liquid two-phase flow

The interface deformation and liquid breakup in vapor–liquid two-phase flow are ubiquitous in natural phenomena and industrial applications. It is crucial to understand the corresponding mechanism correctly. The droplet and liquid ligament dynamic behaviors are investigated in this work by simulating three benchmark cases through adopting a three-dimensional (3D) phase-field-based lattice Boltzmann model, and vapor–liquid phase interface deformation and liquid breakup mechanisms including the capillary instability and end-pinching mechanism are analyzed. The analysis results show that the capillary instability is the driving mechanism of the liquid breakup and the secondary droplet production at a large Weber number, which is different from the Rayleigh–Taylor instability and Kelvin–Helmholtz instability characterizing the vapor–liquid interface deformation. In addition, as another liquid breakup mechanism, the end-pinching mechanism, which describes the back-flow phenomenon of the liquid phase, works at each breakup point, thus resulting in capillary instability on the liquid phase structure. In essence, it is the fundamental mechanism for the liquid breakup and the immanent cause of capillary instability.

Droplet impact on a heated porous plate above the Leidenfrost temperature: A lattice Boltzmann study

In the past few decades, the droplet impact on a heated plate above the Leidenfrost temperature has attracted immense research interest. The strong hydrophobicity caused by the Leidenfrost effect leads to the droplet bouncing from a flat plate at a given contact time predicted by the classical Rayleigh theory. Numerous investigations were conducted to break the theoretical Rayleigh's limit to reduce the interfacial contact time. Recently, a droplet was observed to form a pancake shape and bounce as it impacted nanotube or micropost surfaces above the Leidenfrost temperature. This led to a significant reduction in droplet contact time. However, this unique bouncing phenomenon is still not fully understood, such as the influence of the plate configuration and the relationship between the droplet rebound time and evaporation mass loss. In this study, we carry out a numerical study of the droplet impact dynamics on a heated porous plate above the Leidenfrost temperature, using a multiphase thermal lattice Boltzmann model. Our model is constructed within the unified lattice Boltzmann method framework and is first validated based on theoretical and experimental results. Then, a comprehensive parametric study is performed to investigate the effects of the impact Weber number, the plate temperature, and the plate configurations on the droplet bouncing dynamics. Results show that higher plate temperature, larger Weber number, and smaller pore intervals can accelerate the droplet rebound and promote the droplet pancake bouncing. We demonstrate that the occurrence of the pancake bouncing is attributed to the additional lift force provided by the vapor pressure due to the evaporation of liquid inside the pores. Moreover, the droplet maximum spreading time and maximum spreading factor can be described by a power law function of the impact Weber number. The droplet evaporation mass loss increases linearly with the impingement Weber number and the plate opening fractions. This study provides new insights into the Leidenfrost droplet impingement on porous plates, which may potentially facilitate the design of novel engineering surfaces and devices.

On the Turbulent Drag Reduction Effect of the Dynamic Free-Slip Surface Method

The turbulent boundary layer (TBL) over the hull surface of a water vehicle significantly elevates the drag force on the water vehicle. In this regard, effectively controlling the TBL can lead to a drag reduction (DR) effect and therefore improve the energy efficiency of water transportation. Many DR methods have demonstrated promising DR effects but face challenges in implementation at the scale of engineering application. In this regard, the recently developed dynamic free-slip surface method can resolve some of the critical challenges. It employs an array of freely oscillating air–water interfaces to manipulate the TBL and can achieve a substantial DR effect under certain control conditions. However, the optimal setting of the control parameters that would maximize the DR effect remains unclear. To answer these questions, this study systematically investigates the effects of multiple control parameters for the first time, including the geometric size and curvature of the interface, the frequency of active oscillation, and the Reynolds number of TBL. Digital Particle Image Velocimetry was used to non-invasively measure the velocity and vorticity field of the TBL, and the Charted Clauser method was used to calculate the DR effect. The presented results suggest that the oscillating free-slip interfaces reduce the flow velocity near the wall boundary and lift the transverse vorticity (and the viscous shear stress) away from the wall. In addition, the shape factor of the TBL is elevated by the oscillating interfaces and slowly relaxes back in the downstream regions, which implies a partial relaminarization process induced in the TBL. Up to 36% DR effect was achieved within the current scope range of the control parameters. All of the results consistently suggest that a large DR effect is achieved when the free-slip interfaces oscillate with large Weber numbers. These discoveries shed light on the underlying DR mechanism and provide guidance for the future development of an effective drag control technique based on the dynamic free-slip surface method.

An Analysis of Bubble Migration in Horizontal Thermo-Capillarity Using the VOF Modeling

Due to various engineering applications, spontaneous bubble movement on the heated surface has brought huge attention. This work numerically studied the bubble migration driven by the thermo-capillary force under the temperature gradients perpendicular to the gravity direction. This problem is constructed in a two-dimensional domain, and the volume of fluid (VOF) method is adopted to capture the properties of the bubble interface between the vapor and the liquid. One still vapor bubble is initially positioned at the center of the liquid domain, and the temperature gradient is applied to two side walls. The results show that the bubble with a size greater than the capillary length can only oscillate near the initial position even with a larger temperature gradient. The deformation of the bubble such as spheroid and spherical cap can be found around this regime. However, the movement of the bubble with a size smaller than the capillary length is significant under a higher temperature gradient, and it remains a spherical shape. The coefficient of thermo-capillary force (CTh) is defined within this work, and it is found that a larger Weber number (We) accomplishes a larger CTh. This work may provide more precise guidance for smart bubble manipulation and critical heat flux estimation for future nuclear reactor design.

A lattice Boltzmann study on the bouncing behavior of equal-sized droplet collision

The bouncing behavior of equal-sized droplet collision is simulated by the recent multiphase lattice Boltzmann model with self-tuning equation of state. The nonmonotonic coalescence-bouncing-coalescence transition is successfully reproduced. The effects of Weber number, Ohnesorge number, liquid-to-gas density ratio, and impact factor are investigated. It is found that when the Reynolds number or Ohnesorge number is fixed, the nonmonotonic coalescence-bouncing-coalescence transition can be observed as gradually increasing the Weber number. The increase in the Ohnesorge number is beneficial to the occurrence of the bouncing behavior and leads to the increase in the largest Weber number for the bouncing behavior. The lowest Ohnesorge number for the bouncing behavior is approximately 0.2. Considering that the bouncing behavior is caused by the resistance effect of the gas film between droplets, the decrease in the liquid-to-gas density ratio can promote the bouncing behavior and thus expand the range of the corresponding Weber number. For the off-center collision, the increase in the impact factor can trigger the coalescence-bouncing transition under both relatively small and large Weber numbers. For the coalescence-bouncing transition with a relatively large Weber number, the phase diagram of the collision outcome is in qualitative agreement with the prediction by the previous theoretical model.

Droplet rebound and dripping during impact on small superhydrophobic spheres

While droplet impact processes on hydrophilic and hydrophobic spheres have been widely investigated experimentally and numerically, the impact behaviors of water droplets on small superhydrophobic spheres are studied numerically and theoretically in this research. The numerical model adopts the volume of fluid method (VOF) and is verified by comparing the simulation results with the experimental observations in the literature. The effects of Weber number and sphere-to-droplet diameter ratio on the droplet impact dynamics are discussed. The final outcomes of the impact droplets are classified into rebound and dripping types with the latter appearing at a larger Weber number or a smaller diameter ratio. As the Weber number and diameter ratio increase, droplet deformation during impact is reinforced with the maximum width factor of the rebound droplet becoming greater. The maximum width factor of the dripping droplet is nearly independent of the Weber number but is enlarged by the increasing diameter ratio. Moreover, a larger diameter ratio reduces the contact time of the rebound droplet but raises that of the dripping one. A theoretical model based on energy conservation is established to predict the boundary between the droplet rebound and dripping outcomes and is in good agreement with the simulation results. The diameter ratio limit for droplet dripping at a zero Weber number is also obtained. Our results and analyses provide insight into the interaction mechanism between the impact droplet and small spheres or particles.

Experimental and Modeling Investigation on the Rebound Process of Aluminum Droplet/Wall Impact

When an aluminum droplet impacts a solid wall in a solid rocket motor, its rebound changes the droplets’ motion parameters, making it difficult to precisely predict the internal flowfield parameters as well as the performance of the motor. In this paper, the rebound process of aluminum droplet/wall impact is investigated experimentally, and a semi-empirical model for the rebound motion calculation is established. The results show that as the normal incident velocity increases from 0.63 to , the normal rebound coefficient decreases from 0.81 to 0.49. At the same time, as the incident angle increases from 0 to 50°, the normal rebound coefficient increases from 0.6 to 0.8. The tangential rebound coefficient is maintained in the range of 0.74–0.92 under different experiment conditions, because it is mainly affected by the surface roughness of the solid surface and the contact angle between the droplet and the wall. We also find that, with an increase in Weber number, the rebound coefficient first decreases and then remains stable under larger Weber numbers.

An Approximate Solution Technique for the Flow Past an Obstacle with a Large Weber Number

An Approximate Solution Technique for the Flow Past an Obstacle with a Large Weber Number

Quantification of coflow effects on primary atomization of pressure swirl atomizers

Extension of high momentum jet stabilised combustors towards liquid fuel operation has shown significant injector shape and injection strategy impact on the fuel air mixing behaviour, the flame position and stability and ultimately pollutants. This can be attributed to the lack of optimised injection concepts as well as fundamental understanding of turbulence–spray interactions that dictate atomization and fuel placement in high turbulence gas flow conditions. The current work uses a canonical flow channel to investigate the bilateral interactions between a highly turbulent coaxial air flow and the primary atomization process of a liquid spray generated by pressure-swirl atomizers. A novel two-phase particle image velocimetry (PIV) method with phosphor-particles is developed to enable flow field measurements near the gas–liquid interface as well as in the dilute spray region. In addition, a shadowgraphy technique is applied to detect the disturbances on the sheet surface. Liquid fuel is replaced by deionised water due to safety concerns and the coaxial air flow velocity is varied from 0 to 80 m/s. The results show a significant influence of the aerodynamic forces on the growth rate of sheet disturbances with increasing coflow velocities. This induces an advanced breakup of comparable thick liquid sheets at large Weber numbers. The novel PIV method enabled the quantification of the turbulent kinetic energy transfer between the phases that is strongly dependent on the slip velocity at the gas–liquid interface. These findings assist the ongoing development of liquid fuel injection systems for high momentum jet based combustors and provide validation data for numerical simulations of primary atomization.

A Computational Fluid Dynamics-based Correlation to Predict Droplet Sauter Mean Diameter for Σ− Yliq Atomization Model in Pressure Swirl Atomizer

Liquid atomization is crucial to ensure efficient combustion as it is an inherent part of the injector system. The combustion of fuels relies on effective atomization to increase the surface area of the fuel and consequently achieve high rates of mixing and evaporation. Pressure swirl atomizers are inexpensive and reliable type of atomizer for fuel injection owing to its superior atomization characteristics and relatively simple geometry. The Sauter mean diameter (SMD) of atomizer contributes significantly to the combustion chamber performance. This paper presents a two-step strategy to predict droplet SMD for atomisation model in pressure swirl atomizer through the combination of experimentally validated Computation Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Optimal Latin Hypercubes (OLHC) Design of Experiments (DoE) techniques. A three-dimensional Eulerian two-phase CFD model is developed to account for liquid and gas phases as a single continuum with high-density variation at large Reynolds and Weber numbers and validated against experimental measurements, before being employed to carry out a parametric study involving operating conditions and fluid properties of the pressure swirl atomizer. The atomizer is then represented in terms of four design variables, namely liquid viscosity, liquid velocity, surface tension and atomizer exit diameter. An 87-point OLHC DoE is constructed within the design variables space using a permutation genetic algorithm resulting in an accurate SMD prediction. Results show the newly developed SMD prediction is found to be superior compared with existing correlations and indicate significant improvement in the droplets SMD.

A Computational Fluid Dynamics-based Correlation to Predict Droplet Sauter Mean Diameter for ?? Yliq Atomization Model in Pressure Swirl Atomizer

Liquid atomization is crucial to ensure efficient combustion as it is an inherent part of the injector system. The combustion of fuels relies on effective atomization to increase the surface area of the fuel and consequently achieve high rates of mixing and evaporation. Pressure swirl atomizers are inexpensive and reliable type of atomizer for fuel injection owing to its superior atomization characteristics and relatively simple geometry. The Sauter mean diameter (SMD) of atomizer contributes significantly to the combustion chamber performance. This paper presents a two-step strategy to predict droplet SMD for atomisation model in pressure swirl atomizer through the combination of experimentally validated Computation Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Optimal Latin Hypercubes (OLHC) Design of Experiments (DoE) techniques. A three-dimensional Eulerian two-phase CFD model is developed to account for liquid and gas phases as a single continuum with high-density variation at large Reynolds and Weber numbers and validated against experimental measurements, before being employed to carry out a parametric study involving operating conditions and fluid properties of the pressure swirl atomizer. The atomizer is then represented in terms of four design variables, namely liquid viscosity, liquid velocity, surface tension and atomizer exit diameter. An 87-point OLHC DoE is constructed within the design variables space using a permutation genetic algorithm resulting in an accurate SMD prediction. Results show the newly developed SMD prediction is found to be superior compared with existing correlations and indicate significant improvement in the droplets SMD.

Effects of surface tension on the Richtmyer-Meshkov instability in fully compressible and inviscid fluids

The nonlinear phase of Richtmyer-Meshkov Instability (RMI) is characterized by the development of asymmetric interfacial perturbation structures known as `bubbles' and `spikes', which could potentially be curbed by surface tension. Our work systematically examines such curbing effects of surface tension within a wide range of Weber numbers. Based on numerical results of two-phase compressible simulations, we confirm two existing analytic theories predicting RMI perturbation development respectively at small and asymptotically large Weber numbers, and propose a heuristic criterion identifying the transitional development of RMI at intermediate Weber numbers.

Experimental analysis on the evaporator startup behaviors in a trapezoidally grooved heat pipe

The startup behaviors of evaporation heat transfer in a trapezoidal groove are experimentally studied by using an axial heat pipe with trapezoidal grooves. The effects of heat load and inclined angles on the evaporation startup behaviors are analyzed and discussed. The startup regime diagram is provided to quantitatively describe the behaviors of evaporation heat transfer based on the Weber number and Bond number. The results indicate that, only the gradual startup is observed for the evaporation heat transfer in trapezoidal grooves, however the gradual startup and overshoot startup is experienced in sequence in the tilt condition as the heat load increases. The appearance of evaporation startup regime transition from the gradual startup to overshoot startup is induced by the evaporation regime transition from the fin-film evaporation to the corner-film evaporation inside the evaporator section. The gradual startup occurs for a small Weber number and the overshoot startup occurs for a large Weber number. Increase in Bond number introduces a larger transition Weber number for the startup regime variation of evaporation heat transfer in a trapezoidal groove. Interestingly, the occurrence of the temperature overshoot of few Celsius degrees can be observed to verify whether the grooved heat pipe is in a horizontal position.