The prediction of droplet motion and breakup using a vortex model for turbulent flows

This document describes the development of a computational model to study the movement and breakup _of droplets in turbulent two-component flows. The aim is to produce a suitable model which will be economical of computing resources and practical for engineering applications. The application of particular interest here is that of water droplets in fully developed turbulent pipe flows of oil. The computational method uses Vortex filaments to produce, in a novel way, instantaneous fluctuating velocities within the flow domain. The trajectory of a particle within this field is predicted by integrating the theoretical law of motion for the particle. In addition, the breakup of a fluid particle in the turbulent field may be predicted using an empirical criterion formulated using data obtained from a series of experiments. The tests were designed to study the deformation and breakup of a single water droplet in oil subjected to shear. Wherever possible the results of each development stage of the model were compared with work published in the literature.