TY - JOUR

T1 - Numerical models of two-phase electrohydrodynamics for simulating key processes in electrostatic coalescers: a review (invited paper)

AU - Чирков, Владимир Александрович

AU - Васильков, Сергей Андреевич

AU - Костин, Петр Алексеевич

AU - Елагин, Илья Александрович

PY - 2025/5/15

Y1 - 2025/5/15

N2 - This review article aims to describe and compare widely used numerical models for the computer simulation of key electrohydrodynamic processes occurring in electrostatic coalescers, as well as to present the main results obtained using these models. Both pairwise droplet interaction models and multi-droplet models are considered. The former are based on tracking the movement of the interfacial boundary and employ approaches such as the phase-field, conservative level-set, coupled level-set and volume of fluid, arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian, isoAdvector, and boundary element (or integral) methods. The latter rely on a macroscopic description of emulsion evolution via the population balance model or by solving the equations of motion for a collection of droplets. In addition, the review includes models based on the molecular dynamics method. For each model, its capabilities, advantages, disadvantages, and limitations are described, along with the possible types of results obtained and corresponding examples.The results obtained address issues such as the threshold transition from coalescence to non-coalescence in droplet-droplet and droplet-layer systems, partial coalescence and the regime map of non-coalescence, as well as the interrelation of results derived from different types of models.

AB - This review article aims to describe and compare widely used numerical models for the computer simulation of key electrohydrodynamic processes occurring in electrostatic coalescers, as well as to present the main results obtained using these models. Both pairwise droplet interaction models and multi-droplet models are considered. The former are based on tracking the movement of the interfacial boundary and employ approaches such as the phase-field, conservative level-set, coupled level-set and volume of fluid, arbitrary Lagrangian–Eulerian, isoAdvector, and boundary element (or integral) methods. The latter rely on a macroscopic description of emulsion evolution via the population balance model or by solving the equations of motion for a collection of droplets. In addition, the review includes models based on the molecular dynamics method. For each model, its capabilities, advantages, disadvantages, and limitations are described, along with the possible types of results obtained and corresponding examples.The results obtained address issues such as the threshold transition from coalescence to non-coalescence in droplet-droplet and droplet-layer systems, partial coalescence and the regime map of non-coalescence, as well as the interrelation of results derived from different types of models.

KW - Droplet-layer interaction

KW - Electrocoalescence

KW - Non-coalescence threshold

KW - Numerical modeling

KW - Partial coalescence

KW - Population balance model

KW - Water-in-oil emulsion

UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.elstat.2025.104085 https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0304388625000579

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/b048f592-cc5e-3fc8-b640-b73d237c0b32/

U2 - 10.1016/j.elstat.2025.104085

DO - 10.1016/j.elstat.2025.104085

M3 - Article

JO - Journal of Electrostatics

JF - Journal of Electrostatics

SN - 0304-3886

M1 - 104085

ER -