Multi-phase-field modeling of phase-transforming fluid mixtures

Projektbeschreibung

Neues Konzept zur Modellierung verdunstender Flüssigkeiten

Tintenstrahldruck und verschiedene mikrofluidische Prozesse sind in hohem Maße auf die Verdunstung von Tröpfchen angewiesen, die allein einen großen Teil der Gesamtenergie eines Systems verbrauchen kann. Die Optimierung dieser Effizienz stellt eine Herausforderung dar, da Computermodelle gemäß Stand der Technik nicht die Wechselwirkungen zwischen benachbarten Tröpfchen simulieren können. Verdunstet ein Flüssigkeitstropfen, verändert die umgebende Gasschicht die Verdunstungsrate benachbarter Tropfen, was eine komplexe Mehrphasenbeschreibung erfordert, an der es der aktuellen Technologie mangelt. Mit dem innerhalb der Marie-Skłodowska-Curie-Maßnahmen unterstützten Projekt TRANSFORM wird darauf abgezielt, eine bahnbrechende Phasenfeldtheorie auf der Basis der wichtigsten Prinzipien zu entwickeln. Mit dieser Grundlagenforschung zu kompressiblen Fluidgemischen werden die Wechselwirkungen zwischen Tröpfchen genau simuliert. Der Industrie werden fortgeschrittene Berechnungswerkzeuge zur Lösung komplexer strömungsdynamischer Probleme zur Verfügung gestellt.

Ziel

Droplet evaporation plays an important role in many microfluidics processes. For example, in inkjet printing, evaporation phenomena typically account for approximately 80% of the total energy usage. Optimizing these processes requires a detailed understanding of these phenomena. Alongside experimentation and theoretical work, it is indispensable to integrate high-fidelity computer simulations in the process. At this moment, a suitable first-principles computer model that can describe evaporation phenomena is non-existent.

The challenge in the design of computer models lies in the interaction between droplets. Namely, the evaporation of a liquid droplet produces a gas layer in the vicinity of the droplet which greatly affects the evaporation rate of nearby droplets. Taking this process into account requires a phase-field description of multi-component-multi-phase type. However, state-of-the-art phase-field technology falls short in addressing problems of this type.

The main objective of my project is to realize a breakthrough in phase-field technology by establishing a new phase-field theory for phase-transforming mixtures that is rooted in first-principles mixture theory. The novel theory has a multi-phase-field character that naturally incorporates the interaction between evaporating droplets. My project involves a private-public partnership with experts in microfluidics for inkjet printing at Canon Production Printing Netherlands. If awarded, my project will lay the foundation for the new and largely unexplored field of compressible multi-phase-field theories. These theories describe many processes in which phase
transitions play a role, in microfluidics and beyond. This marks the consolidation of my research line that focuses on the intersection of physical modeling and advanced computing in complex fluids, and aligns with my career goal of becoming a leader of a research group in academia that addresses industrial challenges in complex fluid dynamics at large.