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Electric-field-induced transitions from spherical to discocyte and lens-shaped drops

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 October 2020

Brayden W. Wagoner ,
Petia M. Vlahovska Open the ORCID record for Petia M. Vlahovska [Opens in a new window] ,
Michael T. Harris  and
Osman A. Basaran Open the ORCID record for Osman A. Basaran [Opens in a new window]
Brayden W. Wagoner
Affiliation:
Davidson School of Chemical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN47907, USA
Petia M. Vlahovska
Affiliation:
Department of Engineering Sciences and Applied Mathematics, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL60208, USA
Michael T. Harris
Affiliation:
Davidson School of Chemical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN47907, USA
Osman A. Basaran*
Affiliation:
Davidson School of Chemical Engineering, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN47907, USA
*
†Email address for correspondence: obasaran@purdue.edu
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Abstract

When a poorly conducting drop that is surrounded by a more conducting exterior fluid is subjected to an electric field, the drop can deform into an oblate shape at low field strengths. Such drops become unstable at high field strengths and display two types of dynamics, dimpling and equatorial streaming, the physics of which is currently not understood. If the drop is more viscous, dimples form and grow at the poles of the drop and eventually the discocyte-shaped drop breaks up to form a torus. If the exterior fluid is more viscous, the drop deforms into a lens and sheds rings from the equator that subsequently break into a number of smaller droplets. A theoretical explanation as to why dimple- and lens-shaped drops occur, and the mechanisms for the onset of these instabilities, are provided by determining steady-state solutions by simulation and inferring their stability from bifurcation analysis. For large drop viscosities, electric shear stress is shown to play a dominant role and to result in dimpling. For small drop viscosities, equatorial normal stresses (electric, hydrodynamic and capillary) become unbounded and lead to the lens shape.

JFM classification

Drops and Bubbles: Drops Drops and Bubbles: Electrohydrodynamic effects

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Type
JFM Rapids
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Journal of Fluid Mechanics , Volume 904 , 10 December 2020 , R4
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© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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