Modeling of the non-isothermal liquid droplet impact on a heated solid substrate with heterogeneous wettability

A comprehensive numerical investigation on the impingement and spreading of a non-isothermal liquid droplet on a solid substrate with heterogeneous wettability is presented in this work. The time-dependent incompressible Navier-Stokes equations are used to describe the fluid flow in the liquid droplet, whereas the heat transfer in the moving droplet and in the solid substrate is described by the energy equation. The arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) formulation with finite elements is used to solve the time-dependent incompressible Navier-Stokes equation and the energy equation in the time-dependent moving domain. Moreover, the Marangoni convection is included in the variational form of the Navier-Stokes equations without calculating the partial derivatives of the temperature on the free surface. The heterogeneous wettability is incorporated into the numerical model by defining a space-dependent contact angle. An array of simulations for droplet impingement on a heated solid substrate with circular patterned heterogeneous wettability are presented. The numerical study includes the influence of wettability contrast, pattern diameter, Reynolds number and Weber number on the confinement of the spreading droplet within the inner region, which is more wettable than the outer region. Also, the influence of these parameters on the total heat transfer from the solid substrate to the liquid droplet is examined. We observe that the equilibrium position depends on the wettability contrast and the diameter of the inner surface. Consequently. the heat transfer is more when the wettability contrast is small and/or the diameter of inner region is large. The influence of the Weber number on the total heat transfer is more compared to the Reynolds number, and the total heat transfer increases when the Weber number increases. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A comparison of the fine-scale structure of the diurnal cycle of tropical rain and lightning

In this study, the fine-scale structure of the diurnal variability of ground-based lightning is systematically compared with satellite-based rain. At the outset, it is shown that tropical variability of lightning exhibits a prominent diurnal mode, much like rain. A comparison of the geographical distribution of the timing of the diurnal maximum shows that there is very good agreement between the two observables over continental and coastal regions throughout the tropics. Following this global tropical comparison, we focus on two regions, Borneo and equatorial South America, both of which show the interplay between oceanward and landward propagations of the phase of the diurnal maximum. Over Borneo, both rain and lightning clearly show a climatological cycle of ``breathing in'' (afternoon to early morning) and ``breathing out'' (morning to early afternoon). Over the equatorial east coast of South America, landward propagation is noticed in rain and lightning from early afternoon to early morning. Along the Pacific coast of South America, both rain and lightning show oceanward propagation. Though qualitatively consistent, over both regions the propagation is seen to extend further in rainfall. Additionally, given that lightning highlights vigorous convection, the timing of its diurnal maximum often precedes that of rainfall in the convective life cycle. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparison of Convective and Radiative Heating Modes on the Thermophysical Changes of a Cerium Nitrate Droplet

In this paper, we try to establish the equivalence or similarity in the thermal and physiochemical changes in precursor droplets (cerium nitrate) in convective and radiative fields. The radiative field is created through careful heating of the droplet using a monochromatic light source (CO2 laser). The equivalence is also established for different modes of convection like droplet injected into a high-speed flow and droplet experiencing a convective flow due to acoustic streaming (levitated) only. The thermophysical changes are studied in an aqueous cerium nitrate droplet, and the dissociation of cerium nitrate to ceria is modeled using modified Kramers' reaction rate formulation. It is observed that vaporization, species accumulation, and chemical characteristics obtained in a convectively heated droplet are retained in a radiatively heated droplet by careful adjustment of the laser intensity. The timescales and ceria yield match reasonably well for both the cases. It is also noted that similar conclusions are drawn in both levitated droplet and a nonlevitated droplet.

Transitions and blowoff of unconfined non-premixed swirling flame

The present experimental work reports the first observations of primary and secondary transitions in the time-averaged flame topology in a non-premixed swirling flame as the geometric swirl number S-G (a non dimensional number used to quantify the intensity of imparted swirl) is varied from a magnitude of zero till flame blowout. First observations of two transition types viz. primary and secondary transitions are reported. The primary transition represents a transformation from yellow straight jet flame (at S-G = 0) to lifted flame with blue base and finally to swirling seated (burner attached) yellow flame. Time-averaged streamline plot obtained from 2D PIV in mid-longitudinal plane shows a recirculation zone (RZ) at the immediate vicinity of burner exit. The lifted flame is stabilized along the vortex core of this RZ. Further, when S-G similar to 1.4-3, the first occurrence of vortex breakdown (VB) induced internal recirculation zone (IRZ) is witnessed. The flame now stabilizes at the upstream stagnation point of the VB-IRZ, which is attached to the burner lip. The secondary transition represents a transformation from a swirling seated flame to swirling flame with a conical tailpiece and finally to a highly-swirled near blowout oxidizer-rich flame. This transition is understood to be the result of transition in vortex breakdown modes of the swirling flow field from dual-ring VB bubble to central toroidal recirculation zone (CTRZ). The physics of transition is described on the basis of modified Rossby number (Ro(m)). Finally, when the swirl intensity is very high i.e. SG similar to 10, the flame blows out due to excessive straining and due to entrainment of large amount of oxidizer due to partial premixing. The present investigation involving changes in flame topology is immensely important because any change in global flame structure causes oscillatory heat release that can couple with dynamic pressure and velocity fluctuations leading to unsteady combustion. In this light, understanding mechanisms of flame stabilization is essential to tackle the problem of thermo-acoustic instability. (C) 2015 The Combustion Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

El Nino and the Indian rainfall in June

We have addressed the question of whether the massive deficit of 42% in rainfall over the Indian region in June 2014 can be attributed primarily to the El Nino. We have shown that the variation of convection over the Northern part of the Tropical West Pacific (NWTP: 120-150E, 20-30N) plays a major role in determining the all-India rainfall in June with deficit (excess) in rainfall associated with enhancement (suppression) of convection over NWTP. In June 2014, the outgoing long wave radiation (OLR) anomaly over this region was unfavourable, whereas in June 2015, the OLR anomaly over NWTP was favourable and the all-India rainfall was 16% higher than the long-term average. We find that during El Nino, when the convection over the equatorial central Pacific intensifies, there is a high propensity for intensification of convection over NWTP. Thus, El Nino appears to have an impact on the rainfall over the Indian region via its impact on the convection over the West Pacific, particularly over NWTP. This occurred in June 2014, which suggests that the large deficit in June 2014, could be primarily attributed to the El Nino acting via intensification of convection over NWTP.