Phase change, surface tension and turbulence in real fluids

Sammanfattning: Sprays are extensively used in industry, especially for fuels in internal combustion and gas turbine engines. An optimal fuel/air mixture prior to combustion is desired for these applications, leading to greater efficiency and minimal levels of emissions. The optimization depends on details regarding the different breakups, evaporation and mixing processes. Besides, one should take into consideration that these different steps depend on physical properties of the gas and fuel, such as density, viscosity, heat conductivity and surface tension.In this thesis the phase change and surface tension of a droplet for different flow conditions are studied by means of numerical simulations.This work is part of a larger effort aiming to developing models for sprays in turbulent flows. We are especially interested in the atomization regime, where the liquid breakup causes the formation of droplet sizes much smaller than the jet diameter. The behavior of these small droplets is important to shed more light on how to achieve the homogeneity of the gas-fuel mixture as well as that it directly contributes to the development of large-eddy simulation (LES) models.The numerical approach is a challenging process as one must take into account the transport of heat, mass and momentum for a multiphase flow. We choose a lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) due to its convenient mesoscopic natureto simulate interfacial flows. A non-ideal equation of state is used to control the phase change according to local thermodynamic properties. We analyze the droplet and surrounding vapor for a hydrocarbon fuel close to the critical point. Under forced convection, the droplet evaporation rate is seen to depend on the vapor temperatureand Reynolds number, where oscillatory flows can be observed. Marangoni forces are also present and drivethe droplet internal circulation once the temperature difference at the droplet surface becomes significant.In isotropic turbulence, the vapor phase shows increasing fluctuations of the thermodynamic variables oncethe fluid approaches the critical point. The droplet dynamics is also investigated under turbulent conditions, where the presence of coherent structures with strong shear layers affects the mass transfer between the liquid-vapor flow, showing also a correlation with the droplet deformation. Here, the surface tension and droplet size play a major role and are analyzed in detail.