Numerical simulation of electrically induced deformations of water-oil interface

Jean-Luc Reboud (1) , Jonathan Raisin (1) , Pierre Atten (1)

1 G2ELab - Laboratoire de Génie Electrique de Grenoble

As a part of a study of electrocoalescence of water droplets in oil, the electrically induced deformations of water-oil interfaces are studied. Cases of large deformations of the interfaces involve the strong coupling of hydrodynamics and electrostatics, in which cases numerical simulation is needed. The paper presents different numerical simulations performed using the commercial software COMSOL MULTIPHYSICS™ in cases of water-air or water-oil configurations with axial symmetry. Electrohydrodynamics problems are solved using ALE approach in deforming meshes. Comparisons are presented with the results of analytical developments, asymptotic approaches or experiments.

Domaines: Energie électrique

Jean-Luc Reboud, Jonathan Raisin, Pierre Atten. Numerical simulation of electrically induced deformations of water-oil interface. 6ème conférence biannuelle de la Société Française d'Electrostatique, Jul 2008, Paris, France. pp 236-241. ⟨hal-00360688⟩