Numerical study of drop impingement on a heated film

  • Wang, Xiaoyu (Technical University of Darmstadt)
  • Habes, Constantin (IANUS Simulation)
  • Wörner, Martin (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology)
  • Marschall, Holger (Technical University of Darmstadt)

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In this study, a diffuse interface phase-field approach is employed to investigate droplet impingement onto a heated liquid film, accounting for interfacial heat transfer and thermocapillary (Marangoni) effects[1]. The model is based on the coupled Cahn-Hilliard Navier-Stokes equations with a temperature-dependent mixing energy, supplemented by a temperature transport equation. The formulation is implemented within the OpenFOAM framework with the underlying solver $\mathit{phaseFieldFoam}$. The numerical approach is validated against high quality, time-resolved experimental data of drop impact on a heated pre-wetted wall, capturing key features such as corona formation and the development of a cold spot at the liquid-solid interface under conditions where the entire process remains axisymmetric[2]. Simulation incorporating temperature-dependent viscosity and surface tension successfully reproduce the main experimental observations and demonstrate that the heat transfer is predominantly confined to the thin thermal boundary layers within the drop and substrate. The temporal evolution of the normalized temperature of the cold spot is compared with the experimental measurements, and the observed time delay phenomenon provides further evidence that the heat transfer is governed by transport processes within the liquid film.