Thermocapillary migration and interactions of two nondeformable droplets

TL;DR

This paper presents a numerical investigation of how two nondeformable spherical droplets interact and migrate under thermocapillary forces in microgravity, highlighting the influence of their arrangement and temperature disturbances.

Contribution

It introduces a finite-difference and front-tracking numerical approach to analyze droplet interactions in thermocapillary migration, emphasizing the effects of drop arrangement and temperature fields.

Findings

Drop arrangement affects migration and interaction.

Drop motion is mainly influenced by disturbed temperature fields.

Interactions depend on the relative positioning of the droplets.

Abstract

A numerical study on interactions of two spherical drops in thermocapillary migration in microgravity is presented. Finite-difference methods were adopted and the interfaces of drops were captured by the front-tracking technique. It is found that the arrangement of drops directly influences their migrations and interaction, and that the motion of one drop is mainly determined by the disturbed temperature field because of the existence of the other drop.