Binary droplet collision simulations by a multiphase cascaded lattice Boltzmann method

Three-dimensional binary droplet collisions are studied using a multiphase cascaded lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). With this model it is possible to simulate collisions with a Weber number of up to 100 and a Reynolds number of up to 1000, at a liquid to gas density ratio of over 100. This is made possible by improvements to the collision operator of the LBM. The cascaded LBM in three dimensions is introduced, in which additional relaxation rates for higher order moments, defined in a co-moving reference frame, are incorporated into the collision operator. It is shown that these relaxation rates can be tuned to reduce spurious velocities around curved phase boundaries, without compromising the accuracy of the simulation results. The range of attainable Reynolds numbers is therefore increased. Different outcomes from both head-on and off-centre collisions are simulated, for both equal and unequal size droplets, including coalescence, head-on separation, and off-centre separation. For head-on collisions the critical Weber number between coalescence and separation is shown to decrease with decreasing ambient gas pressure. The variation of critical Weber number with droplet size ratio is also studied. Comparisons are made with the theoretical predictions of Tang et al. [“Bouncing, coalescence, and separation in head-on collision of unequal-size droplets,” Phys. Fluids 24, 022101 (2012)], and the effect of ambient gas pressure is again considered. For off-centre collisions, boundaries between different collision outcomes are accurately defined and quantitative comparisons are made with the theoretical predictions of Rabe et al. [“Experimental investigation of water droplet binary collisions and description of outcomes with a symmetric Weber number,” Phys. Fluids 22, 047101 (2010)]. While general agreement between the simulated and theoretical boundaries is presented, deviations due to varying liquid viscosity are observed. Finally, the prediction of the independence of regime boundaries with varying droplet size ratio, when using the symmetric Weber number as defined by Rabe et al., is discussed. Simulation results showing qualitative agreement are presented, although some discrepancies are reported.