Designing a stable droplet levitation wind tunnel

The efficient study of liquid droplets ranging from micrometers to a few centimeters by levitation is usually hindered by conventional design limitations. This is due to continuous droplet deformation in the test section. This research discusses the development of a robust design methodology for large droplet-stabilization (d > Ca) vertical wind tunnels. A modeling and simulation environment has been developed which involves component sizing and integration on analysis software followed by design optimization. Extensive research on guide vanes design to minimize the viscous losses and wind tunnel size using numerical software for cascade analyses has been successfully accomplished. Sensitivity analysis has been performed on the geometric parameters to identify the design variables for optimization. A statistical modeling of the multivariable, non-linear and discontinuous design problem has been performed to investigate the optimum design space using the stochastic optimization technique. The design of honeycomb and wire screens and their optimization for a given design has been performed using the Navier-Stokes equations. A non-conventional design with varying test area cross-section has been introduced to investigate the droplet stability in the test section. The research highlights a systematic design methodology and an alternate configuration for liquid droplet wind tunnels while focusing on stable droplet levitation.