Dynamics of a radially expanding liquid sheet

Prof. Mahesh S Tirumkudulu

Department of Chemical Engineering Powai, IIT-Bombay
Abstract:
A fundamental understanding of the break-up of bulk liquids and subsequent drop formation is important i
n areas as diverse as spray coating, combustion, and in biomedical devices such nebulizers. One such rout
e of atomization involves radial liquid sheets generated by laminar jet impingement which eventually brea
k-up into fine droplets. Radial liquid sheets are formed by head-on impingement of liquid jets, where the
liquid sheet spreads out radially in a plane perpendicular to direction of the jets. We focus on the dyna
mics of break-up of such liquid sheets when the point of impingement is subjected to perturbations via aco
ustic forcing of controlled sound intensity and frequency to identify regimes of accelerated and violent she
et break-up. Stability equations are derived from the inviscid flow equations for a radially expanding sheet
that govern the time-dependent evolution of the two liquid interfaces. The analysis accounts for the vary
ing liquid sheet thickness while the inertial effects due to the surrounding gas phase is ignored. When the
sheet is excited at a fixed frequency, a small sinuous displacement introduced at the point of impingemen
t grows as it is convected downstream suggesting that the sheet is unstable at all Weber numbers (ratio of
inertia to surface tension forces) in the absence of the gas phase. Asymptotic analysis of the sinuous mod
e for large frequencies shows that the disturbance amplitude diverges inversely with the distance from th
e edge of the sheet. The varicose waves (thickness modulations), on the other hand, are neutrally stable at a
ll frequencies and are convected at the speed of the liquid jet. To test the predictions of the theory, we u
sed laser induced fluorescence technique (LIF) to determine the thickness variation and deflection of the s
heet for varying sound pressure levels and frequencies. In the absence of the disturbance, the measured li
quid sheet thickness varies inversely with radial distance from the point of impingement for the smooth s
heet and matches well with theoretical predictions. When the perturbations are introduced, sheet undergoes
flag like motion though the thickness modulations appear to negligible. The measured wave speed, wavel
engths and growth rates of the sinuous waves match with those predicted by the theory confirming that the
sinuous waves are unstable and that a simple theory that ignores the inertia of the surrounding gas phase
is sufficient to capture the main aspects of the sheet dynamics.

Stresses for the elastic-plastic transition and fully plastic state have been derived for a thin rotating disc wi
th rigid shaft having variable thickness by using Seths Transition theory and results have been discussed
and depicted graphically. It has been observed that in the absence of thickness, rotating disc with inclusi
on and made of compressible material e.g. Copper, Brass and Steel, yields at the internal surface at a le
sser angular speed as compared to a rotating disc made of incompressible material e.g. rubber whereas it r
equires a higher percentage increase in angular speed to become fully plastic. With the effect of variation
thickness, higher angular speed is required to yield at the internal surface. It has been observed that the ra
dial stress is maximum at the internal surface. With the effect of variable thickness it increases the value o
f radial and circumferential stress at the internal surface for transitional state, whereas it can be seen that r
otating disc having variable thickness increases the values of radial and circumferential stress at the inter
nal surface for fully-plastic state. Key words: stresses, displacement, rotating disc, angular speed, Inclusion, thi
ckness