Simulation and modeling of the vaporization of a freely moving and deforming drop at low to moderate Weber numbers

TL;DR

This paper uses direct numerical simulation to study how freely moving and deforming drops vaporize in high-temperature gases, revealing how deformation influences vaporization rates and proposing an improved predictive model.

Contribution

It introduces a new simulation approach combining Navier-Stokes, phase change, and interface tracking, and develops a time-dependent vaporization model accounting for drop deformation.

Findings

Vaporization rate increases with Weber number due to larger windward surface area.

Simulation results align well with empirical and theoretical models.

The new vaporization model outperforms traditional spherical drop models.

Abstract

The vaporization of a freely moving drop in a uniform, high-temperature gas stream is investigated through direct numerical simulation. The incompressible Navier-Stokes equations with surface tension and phase change are solved in conjunction with the energy equations of each phase. The sharp liquid-gas interface is tracked using the geometric Volume-of-Fluid (VOF) method and an immersed Dirichlet boundary condition for temperature is imposed at the interface. The simulation approach is validated by simulating water and acetone drops at nearly zero Weber numbers, and the simulation results agree very well with the empirical relation for spherical drops. Parametric simulations were conducted to investigate the aerodynamic breakup of vaporizing drops at low to moderate Weber and Reynolds numbers. The range of Weber numbers considered has covered the vibrational and bag breakup regimes. Through the simulation results, we have characterized the impact of drop deformation and breakup on the drop vaporization rate. When the drop Weber number increases, the windward surface area increases more rapidly over time. As a result, the rate of drop volume reduction also increases. The correlation between the vaporization rate and the windward surface area is examined for different Weber and Reynolds numbers. Using the approximate correlation between the drop vaporization rate and the windward surface area and the TAB model for drop deformation, a new time-dependent drop vaporization model is proposed. The present model agrees well with the simulation results and shows a significant improvement over the conventional model for spherical drops.