“A wave for spray atomization”
 
by Dr. Jérôme Hoepffner
(Institut D’Alembert – Université Pierre et Marie Curie – Paris, France)

 
Friday November 5, 2010, at 11:00 – Room ME B 10
 
 
Abstract :
A perturbation is induced at the sheared interface between a stream of liquid and a stream of gas. This initial perturbation then evolves as the reponse of inertia, viscosity and interfacial tension. The initial condition we have considered is localized in space. We observe as a result a single Kelvin-Helmholtz wave, tending to a self similar regime after a short transient. We describe the anatomy of this well-defined entity as the physical parameters are varied, especially the density ratio of the two phases. This study is aimed at identifying a possible recurrent agent in atomization processes, as observed for instance in Marmottant and Villermaux (2004). The numerical simulations are performed using the volume of fluid method for interface tracking.