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How sedimenting droplets grow and stir the fluid

ORAL

Abstract

We study sedimenting droplets in binary fluid mixture in the droplet-spinodal regime using direct numerical simulations of the Cahn-Hilliard-Navier-Stokes equation (model H without noise). In zero-gravity, the characteristic length scale follows t1/3 law where t is time. But, we are neither in the regime of Lifshitz-Sloyzov- Wagner scaling nor in the Binder-Stauffer-Siggia scaling. In non-zero gravity, the scaling crosses over to a t2/3 scaling at late times. During the same late times, the sedimenting droplets stir the fluid consequently the kinetic energy of the fluid grows as t5/3 . Both in absence and presence of gravity the energy spectra of the fluid shows a k-4 scaling at intermediate range of scales although in the former case the energy decays in time and in the latter case it grows with time. We construct a scaling theory that help us understand these numerical results.

Presenters

  • Dhrubaditya MITRA

    NORDITA

Authors

  • Dhrubaditya MITRA

    NORDITA

  • Akshay Bhatnagar

    NORDITA

  • Prasad Perlekar

    TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Hyderabad, 500107