Numerical Simulation of Droplet Flows and Evaluation of Interfacial Area

Abstract

Droplet flows with coalescence and breakup are simulated numerically using the lattice Boltzmann method. It is shown that the rising velocities are in good agreement with those obtained by the force balance and the empirical correlation. The breakup of droplets after coalescence is simulated well in terms of the critical Weber number. A numerical method to evaluate the interfacial area and the volume fraction in two-phase flows is proposed. It is shown that the interfacial area corresponds to the shape, the number and the size of droplets, and the proposed method is effective for numerical evaluation of interfacial area even if the interface changes dynamically.