Donghai Yang

Investigation on Transient Oscillation of Droplet Deformation before Conical Breakup under Alternating Current Electric Field.

In this paper, the conical breakup of a water droplet suspended in oil under the alternating current (ac) electric field was experimentally studied with the help of a high-speed video camera. We observed three stages of transient oscillation of deformation characterized by deformation degree l* before the conical breakup that were described in detail. Then a theoretical model was developed to find out the dynamic mechanisms of that behavior. Despite a very small discrepancy, good agreement between model predictions and experimental observations of the evolution of the droplet deformation was observed, and the possible reasons for the discrepancy were discussed as well. Finally, the stresses on the interface were calculated with the theoretical model and their influence on the dynamic behavior before the breakup was obtained. The differences between the droplet breakup mode of ac and direct current electric field are also discussed in our paper.

An investigation into the deformation, movement and coalescence characteristics of water-in-oil droplets in an AC electric field

Drop-drop coalescence is important in electric dehydrators used for oil-water separation in the oil industry. The deformation degree, angle between the electric field and the center line of two drops, effects of intensities and frequencies of the electric field have been studied by analyzing droplet images. However, seldom have people investigated the movement and the relative velocity in the process of drop-drop coalescence. In this paper forces acting on a single droplet and horizontal water droplets in an AC electric field were analyzed, and experiments were carried out to investigate the deformation, movement and coalescence characteristics of droplets with white oil and water. With a micro high-speed camera system and image processing technology, the droplet images were collected and analyzed. The results indicate that the deformation is mainly affected by the electric field intensity, frequency, droplet diameter and the oil viscosity. High field strength and large diameter facilitate deformation of drops in the electric field. The effect of frequency and oil viscosity is not obvious. Higher frequency and higher oil viscosity will lead to smaller oscillation amplitude. The effect of electric field intensity and droplet diameter on oscillation amplitude is not obvious. When the center-to-center distance between droplets is large, the forces acting on droplets in the horizontal direction are mainly dipole-dipole attraction and drag forces. There is also the film-thinning force when droplets get closer. The forces are simplified and derived. Based on force analysis and Newton’s second law, the relative movement is analyzed in different parts, and the relationship of center-to-center distance and time is in accordance with an explinear function at different stages. According to experimental data, the movement of 145 μm double droplets before coalescence can be fitted well with an explinear function at two stages. In addition, the whole movement process is investigated and can be estimated with a fourth order polynomial curve, from which the relative velocity of droplet movement can also be obtained. With an increases in electric field intensity and droplet diameter and a decrease in oil viscosity, the relative velocity increases. Only when the oil-water interfacial tension is obviously high, can it influence the relative movement significantly. The coalescence is mainly dipole coalescence and chain coalescence under influence of the AC electric field.

Breakup Characteristics of Aqueous Droplet with Surfactant in Oil under Direct Current Electric Field

The breakup process of aqueous droplet with surfactant suspended in oil under direct current (DC) electric field is investigated in this paper. The characteristics of the breakup process, stretching, necking and breakup, are discussed quantitatively with the electric capillary number Ca and the dimensionless surfactant concentration C∗ which is the ratio of surfactant concentration to the critical micelle concentration. The results show that the presence of surfactant reduces the steady deformation of droplet and significantly decelerates the stretching process, resulting from the redistribution of surfactant molecules within the oil/water interface. The law of droplet stretching process when C∗≥1 indicates that the exchange of surfactant molecules between the bulk phase and the interface could not catch up with the increase of oil/water interfacial area. Ca and C∗ count a great deal to the necking position and the daughter droplet size. The daughter droplet size decreases with the increase of surfactant concentration. These results provide a mechanistic framework to promote the electrocoalescence efficiency of oil/water emulsion and to the application of electric emulsification.

An experimental investigation on the deformation of alkali-surfactant-polymer droplet under AC electric field

With the help of high-speed photography, the microscopic laws of alkali-surfactant-polymer (ASP) droplet deformation under high voltage alternating current (AC) electric field were studied. The influences of AC electric field intensity and frequency were investigated in detail. Moreover, the synergistic effect of alkali-surfactant-polymer on drop deformation was reported. Experimental results demonstrate that there is a power law relationship between the deformation of alkali-surfactant-polymer droplet and the electric field strength. And it could be inferred that ASP interactions should be responsible for the complex relationship between ASP droplet deformation and the AC electric field frequency.