SFB 1313 Publication "Droplet Formation, Growth and Detachment at the Interface of a Coupled Free-FLow–Porous Medium System: A New Model Development and Comparison"

New SFB 1313 Publication, published in Transport in Porous Media. The work has been developed within the SFB 1313 research projects A02 and A05.

"Droplet Formation, Growth and Detachment at the Interface of a Coupled Free-FLow–Porous Medium System: A New Model Development and Comparison"

Authors

• Maziar Veyskarami (University of Stuttgart, associated SFB 1313 researcher)
• Cynthia Michalkowski (Robert Bosch GmbH, forme SFB 1313 doctoral researcher)
• Carina Bringedal (University of Stuttgart, SFB 1313 assoociated researcher, research project A05)
• Rainer Helmig (University of Stuttgart, SFB 1313 research projects A02 and C02)

Abstract

Coupled free-flow–porous medium systems are of great importance in various natural and industrial applications. Modeling of such systems is always challenging, especially when droplets form at the interface between the two domains. We propose a new concept to take droplet formation, growth and detachment at the interface into account. In this concept, we use pore-network modeling to describe the porous medium and the Navier–Stokes equations for the free-flow domain. New coupling conditions are developed which include droplet interactions with the free flow and the porous medium. Impacts of using different descriptions of the forces acting on the triple contact line and contact angle hysteresis on the predicted onset of the droplet detachment are examined. In addition, we compare the new approach with another model built using ANSYS Fluent based on the volume of fluid method. The results show that the new model is able to describe the droplet formation, growth and then detachment by the free flow. The proposed model provides a base for further developments to handle formation of multiple droplets at the interface between a free flow and a porous medium as well as to include the evaporation in future works.