Electrohydrodynamic simulation of electrically controlled droplet generation

Highlights: • We develop a full electrohydrodynamic simulation approach which allows for the accurate modeling of droplet dynamics under the influence of transient electric fields. The model takes into account conductive, capacitive as well as convective electrical currents in the fluid. • Simulation results are shown for an electrically driven droplet generator using highly conductive acetone droplets and low conductivity pentane droplets, respectively. Excellent agreement with measurement is found. • We investigate the operation characteristic of the droplet generator by computing droplet sizes and detachment times with respect to the applied voltage. • The droplet charging effect is demonstrated for pentane droplets as well as for acetone droplets under long voltage pulses. We show that due to the very different relaxation times, the charging behavior of the two liquids is very different. • We demonstrate that due to this behavior, also the detachment mechanisms for acetone and pentane droplets are different. For low conductivity (pentane) droplets, droplet detachment is only possible after the electric fields are switched off. This is because the effective electric polarization force points upwards, thus, inhibiting the detachment of the droplet from the capillary tip. - Abstract: An electrohydrodynamic model for the simulation of droplet formation, detachment and motion in an electrically driven droplet generator is introduced. The numerical approach is based on the coupled solution of the multiphase flow problem with the charge continuity equation. For the latter, a modified convection-conduction model is applied, taking into account conductive, capacitive as well as convective electrical currents in the fluid. This allows for a proper description of charge relaxation phenomena in the moving fluid. In particular, the charge received by the droplet after detachment is an important parameter influencing the droplet dynamics in the test chamber. Simulation results are shown for highly conductive acetone droplets and for low conductivity pentane droplets, respectively. The operation characteristic of the droplet generator is investigated by computing droplet sizes and detachment times with respect to the applied voltage.