Abstract
This paper presents an experimental study of vertically traveling droplet packets, where the droplets in each packet are aligned linearly, one behind another. The paper describes in detail, an experimental apparatus that produces repeatable, linearly aligned, and isolated droplet packets containing 1–6 droplets per packet. The apparatus is suitable for examining aerodynamic interactions between droplets within each packet. This paper demonstrates the performance of the apparatus by examining the drag reduction and collision of droplets traveling in the wake of a lead droplet. Comparison of a calculated single droplet trajectory with the detailed droplet position versus time data for a droplet packet provides the average drag reduction experienced by the trailing droplets due to the aerodynamic wake of the lead droplet. For the conditions of our experiment (4 droplet packet, 145 μm methanol droplets, 10 m/s initial velocity, initial droplet spacing of 5.2 droplet diameters, Reynolds number approx. 80) the average drag on the first trailing droplet was found to be 75% of the drag on the lead droplet.
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Nguyen, Q.V., Dunn-Rankin, D. Experiments examining drag in linear droplet packets. Experiments in Fluids 12, 157–165 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00188254
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00188254