Effect of surfactant-laden droplets on turbulent flow topology
Giovanni Soligo, Alessio Roccon, Alfredo Soldati
Abstract
Surfactants are ubiquitous in everyday life, and can dramatically change the behavior of droplets and bubbles, even when present in tiny amounts. We use numerical simulations to shed light on the complex interaction among turbulent flow, interfaces, and surfactant dynamics: surfactants increase interface deformability and modify the local flow topology. Although the presence of surfactant-laden droplets has a minor effect on the macroscopic flow, turbulence is topologically modified via the action of Marangoni stresses, which promote an elongational type of flow at the interface.
Topics & Concepts
Marangoni effectTurbulencePulmonary surfactantFlow (mathematics)Materials scienceTopology (electrical circuits)MechanicsFlow focusingMicrofluidicsNanotechnologyPhysicsThermodynamicsEngineeringConvectionElectrical engineeringFluid Dynamics and Heat TransferPickering emulsions and particle stabilizationFluid Dynamics and Mixing