Insights into the dynamics of crown splash using a phase-field interface capturing method

This study investigates the dynamics of single-drop impact on thin liquid films, a crucial phenomenon in fields such as combustion, agriculture, and printing. The research employs three-dimensional interface-resolved Direct Numerical Simulation (DNS) using a phase-field method to examine key phenomena such as crown formation, jetting, and the generation of secondary droplets. A key methodological enhancement is the integration of adaptive mesh refinement with dynamic load balancing, significantly boosting the efficiency of numerical analysis and enabling efficient DNS of crown-splash dynamics with a finest grid spacing satisfying the Kolmogorov-scale resolution criterion. Moreover, the study addresses a gap in the existing literature by contributing new experimental data on drop impact on thinner liquid films. The liquid-phase volume is monitored throughout the simulations, with the maximum absolute relative water-volume deviation remaining below 0.1% over the simulated interval. New results are also presented for the temporal evolution of the residual film thickness and for the liquid-sheet thickness along the crown wall at fixed vertical positions. ... mehrNotably, the results exhibit good agreement between the simulations and experimental observations, supporting the phase-field method’s effectiveness in capturing the dominant crown-splash dynamics. This research offers insights into complex interfacial fluid dynamics, with implications for improving processes in combustion, agricultural spraying, and inkjet printing applications.