Leidenfrost flows: instabilities and symmetry breakings

TL;DR

This study combines experiments and theory to analyze the flow structures, stability, and symmetry breakings inside evaporating Leidenfrost water drops, revealing mode transitions as the drops shrink.

Contribution

It provides a theoretical stability analysis of thermoconvective flows inside Leidenfrost drops, predicting mode transitions during evaporation.

Findings

Flow symmetry breaks successively during evaporation.

Most unstable azimuthal modes decrease from m=3 to m=1 as the drop shrinks.

The theory accurately predicts the radii at which mode transitions occur.

Abstract

Leidenfrost drops were recently found to host strong dynamics. In the present study, we investigate both experimentally and theoretically the {flows structures and stability} inside a Leidenfrost water drop as it evaporates, starting with a large puddle. As revealed by infrared mapping, the drop base is warmer than its apex by typically 10$^{\circ}$C, which is likely to trigger bulk thermobuoyant flows and Marangoni surface flows. Tracer particles unveil complex and strong flows that undergo successive symmetry breakings as the drop evaporates. We investigate the linear stability of the baseflows in a non-deformable, quasi-static, levitating drop induced by thermobuoyancy and effective thermocapillary surface stress, using only one adjustable parameter. The stability analysis of nominally axisymmetric thermoconvective flows, parametrized by the drop radius $R$, yields the most unstable, {thus, dominant, azimuthal modes (of wavenumber $m$). Our theory predicts well the radii $R$ for the mode transitions and cascade with decreasing wavenumbers from $m=3$, $m=2$, down to $m=1$ (the eventual rolling mode that entails propulsion) as the drop shrinks in size}. The effect of the escaping vapor is not taken into account here, which may further destabilize the inner flow and couple to the liquid/vapor interface to give rise to motion Bouillant et al. (2018) [8] and Brandao et al. (2020) [9].