Breakup of a liquid rivulet falling over an inclined plate: Identification of a critical

Weber number
Rajesh K. Singh, Janine E. Galvin, Greg A. Whyatt, and Xin Sun

Citation: Physics of Fluids 29, 052101 (2017); doi: 10.1063/1.4981920

View online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4981920
View Table of Contents: http://aip.scitation.org/toc/phf/29/5
Published by the American Institute of Physics

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 PHYSICS OF FLUIDS 29, 052101 (2017)

Breakup of a liquid rivulet falling over an inclined plate:

Identification of a critical Weber number
Rajesh K. Singh,1,a) Janine E. Galvin,1 Greg A. Whyatt,2 and Xin Sun2
1 National Energy Technology Laboratory, Albany, Oregon 97321, USA
2 Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington 99352, USA
(Received 10 November 2016; accepted 6 April 2017; published online 4 May 2017)

We have numerically investigated the breakup of a rivulet falling over a smooth inclined plate using
the volume of fluid method. Rivulet breakup is a complex phenomenon dictated by many factors, such
as physical properties (viscosity and surface tension), contact angle, inertia, and plate inclination. An
extensive simulation was conducted wherein these factors were systematically investigated. Regimes
for a stable rivulet and an unstable rivulet that leads to breakup are examined in terms of a critical
value of the Weber number (Wecr ) that delineates these regimes. A higher Wecr implies that a higher
flow rate is required to maintain a stable rivulet. The impact of liquid properties is characterized by
the Kapitza number (Ka). Variation of Wecr with Ka shows two trends depending on the Ka value
of the liquid. Liquids with lower Ka values, corresponding to high viscosities and/or low surface
tensions, show linear variation and smaller value of the critical Weber number. In other words, the
lower the liquid Ka value, the more stable the rivulet will tend to be with changes in liquid inertia. A
liquid having higher Ka value exhibits larger value of Wecr and quadratic variation of Wecr with Ka.
This behavior is more pronounced with increasing contact angle (γ). Higher contact angles promote
rivulet breakup so that inertia must be higher to suppress breakup, consequently Wecr increases with
increasing γ. The effect of plate inclination on breakup shows that Wecr decreases with increased
inclination angle (θ) owing to higher effective liquid inertia. However, the effect is negligible beyond
θ > 60◦ . The effect of the inlet size reveals that Wecr decreases with inlet cross-sectional area, but the
corresponding solvent flow rate for rivulet breakup remains unchanged. A phenomenological scaling
for the critical Weber number with the Kapitza number and contact angle is presented, which may offer
insight into rivulet breakup. Published by AIP Publishing. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4981920]

I. INTRODUCTION understanding the hydrodynamics at the scale of the liquid

Fossil-fueled based power plants account for 40% of all
CO2 emissions,1 and a need exists to mitigate these emissions
to control global warming. Post-combustion carbon capture
by chemical absorption using countercurrent gas-liquid flow
in structured packing is a popular and efficient technology for
reduction of CO2 emission from power plants.1 The structured
packed column provides a large surface area for mass trans-
fer between the phases with minimum pressure drop across
the column.2 These structured packed columns are several
meters in length (diameter: 5–10 m and height h: 20–30 m).3,4
In contrast, the size of the structured packing unit is much
smaller, typically around 20 cm, and the liquid-film on the
packing is typically less than a millimeter in thickness. Thus,
a wide disparity in length scales exists in the structured packed
column. It is not computationally feasible to perform compu-
tational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations at the length scale
of the column size while accounting for the actual geometry
of the internal packing and the local gas-liquid interactions at
a film level. Accordingly, multiscale modelling must be used
to resolve these differences in scale.4 Gravity-driven film flow
down an inclined plate provides a simple configuration for
a) Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Electronic addresses:
rajesh-kumar.singh@netl.doe.gov and rajeshsingh.175@gmail.com
film. As shown previously,5,6 a film falling down an inclined
plate exhibits different flow patterns such as a full film, rivulet,
and droplet. These flow features are dependent upon various
parameters, such as solvent physical properties, solvent flow
rates, plate surface texture and plate inclination. In this paper,
the volume of fluid method (VOF) is used to examine the tran-
sition from rivulet to droplet flow by breakup of the rivulet.
A better understanding of this flow regime transition and how
the various parameters play a role may be useful in the opera-
tion and design of a structured packing column where rivulets
may occur. It is also relevant to other areas where breakup of a
rivulet into droplets plays a key role in design and performance,
such as in microfluidics and inkjet printings.
Rivulets flowing down an inclined plate exhibit a wide
variety of instabilities, such as interfacial waves, braiding,
meandering, breakup of a rivulet into droplets, and transition
of rivulet flow from laminar to turbulent.7 These instabilities
are complex phenomenon dictated by many factors such as
contact line motion (the point where the interface meets the
solid surface), contact angle, surface tension, gravity, viscos-
ity, and inertia.8,9 Surface tension generally acts to destabilize
the rivulet whereas gravity and viscosity tend to stabilize the
rivulet.7 The classical Rayleigh–Plateau instability observed
in freestanding liquid jets, wherein a falling stream breaks
up into smaller drops, is an example of a capillary instability

1070-6631/2017/29(5)/052101/15/$30.00 29, 052101-1 Published by AIP Publishing.

052101-2 Singh et al.
which is driven by surface tension. In the case of a rivulet, the
analysis becomes more complex due to the additional solid-
liquid interaction.10 Over the past several decades, rivulet
stability has been studied using a variety of techniques: ana-
lytically using linearized stability analysis,7,8,11,12 the energy
minimization method,13–15 or the perturbation method;16
experimentally17–20 and numerically.21,22
The stability of a static rivulet on a horizontal surface in
the absence of gravity at different contact line conditions (e.g.,
fixed or moving contact lines with either fixed contact angles
or smoothly varying contact angles) was investigated in the
pioneering study of Davis.12 A condition for stability in terms
of a critical wavenumber was presented as a function of the
equilibrium contact angle. This study was further extended by
Young and Davis7 to explore the effects of contact line motion
and slip at the surface on the stability of a rivulet. The rivulet
size and contact-line motion strongly influence the stability of
a rivulet. A wider rivulet or a rivulet having immobile con-
tact lines is prone to kinematic wave instabilities, whereas a
narrower rivulet with moving contact lines is disposed to cap-
illary breakup. Both of these studies7,12 were conducted in the
absence of gravity. The stability of a transverse rivulet (rivulet
width is greater than its length in the flow direction) has been
studied in the presence of gravity.23,24 In this case, gravity tends
to stabilize the rivulet by suppressing the instability. Inertia is
another important factor affecting the rivulet behavior and the
manner of instability.
Inertia may give rise to kinematic instabilities (i.e., the
formation of surface waves at the interface),25 braiding,26 and
meandering instabilities in the rivulet.27,28 When contact lines
are less mobile, surface tension (or capillary effects) inhibits
the formation of kinematic instabilities whereas inertia effects
enhance it.7 Mertens et al.26 observed such an instability and
referred to it as braiding (a stationary flow pattern that varies
in width and height). They also attributed it to a competition
between surface tension which tends to narrow the rivulet and
fluid inertia which acts to widen the rivulet. When the contact
lines are less mobile, as in these cases, the capillary insta-
bility (discussed below) is suppressed. A meandering rivulet,
wherein a rivulet destabilizes or deviates from a straight line,
is generally observed upon increasing flow rate. The rivulet
shape is irregular in general and given sufficient time may
become stationary or destabilize and break down depending on
flow conditions.29 The mechanism by which the straight rivulet
destabilizes into a meandering rivulet is not fully understood.
Kim et al.28 report that the meandering instability is a competi-
tion between inertia and surface tension but is also related to the
tangential velocity difference across the interface and effects
of the dynamic wetting. While Birner et al.27 have reported
that the meandering instability arises from disturbances in the
flow rate and that a rivulet will usually tend to meander unless
the flow rate is maintained at a highly constant value. More
recently Couvreur and Daerr 30 emphasize the role played by
the geometry of the contact line (including the roughness of the
contact line and wetting hysteresis) on an initial critical flow
rate above which a straight rivulet destabilizes and begins to
meander. While interesting, such instabilities are not the pri-
mary focus of the current effort which is to study breakup of
the rivulet.
Phys. Fluids 29, 052101 (2017)
Rivulet breakup is dictated by a balance of various forces,
such as viscous, capillary, gravity, inertia, and the force due to
solid-liquid interaction.10 Two mechanisms for rivulet breakup
are recognized: capillary wave growth, a counterpart to the
Rayleigh-Plateau instability found in free surface liquid jets,
and end-pinching.31 In capillary wave breakup, surface tension
gives rise to a capillary pressure gradient that leads to thinner
and thicker regions similar to the Rayleigh-Plateau instabil-
ity. This perturbation grows and eventually the rivulet may
break up into small droplets. The size and spacing between
the droplets depend on the contact angle; higher contact
angles (corresponding to hydrophobicity) lead to more closely
spaced larger droplets.21,32 As noted earlier, such breakup
phenomenon tends to occur in narrow rivulets having mobile
contact lines.7 It is worth noting that increasing the fluid inertia
tends to mitigate this type of instability.7,9 End-pinching, the
second mechanism, has been observed in breakup of a rivulet
of finite length along a horizontal surface in the presence of
gravity.32,33 The tip/end of the rivulet retracts because of sur-
face tension and the subsequent gathering of fluid into the tip
results in rapid bulb formation at the end. The bulbous end then
pinches off from a rivulet and a droplet appears. This instability
differs from the aforementioned capillary breakup instabil-
ity in that it is not a simultaneous occurrence along different
regions of the rivulet. Instead, perturbations at the ends of the
domain are observed and propagate toward the uniform bulk
resulting in a smaller daughter droplet that appears because of
pinch-off process. Recently, Wilson et al.34 investigated the
breakup of a thin rivulet into daughter-rivulets (multiple small
rivulets) using the lubrication approximation and a prescribed
a minimum value of rivulet semi-width above which breakup
occurs.
The capillary wave breakup mechanism for a rivulet on a
surface has been studied numerically using the finite element
method21 and the phase-field method,31 analytically,10,13 and
experimentally.17 A good agreement with classical Rayleigh
prediction was found in the experimental study for the rupture
of a polymer rivulet. Despite the knowledge gained by these
studies, many have either simplifying assumptions or under-
lying limitations in their analysis. For example, the numeri-
cal studies based on an Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE)
technique by Ubal et al.21 were limited to investigating onset
of breakup phenomenon. Since this method cannot follow
changes in domain topology, their simulations could not con-
tinue beyond breakup. Thus the study of post break phenomena
was not possible. The phase field simulation for rivulet breakup
neglected inertia,31 while the analytic stability analyses that
rely on a lubrication approximation fail to correctly predict
the rivulet behavior at large contact angles.23 Furthermore,
stability analysis becomes even more complex when trying
to accommodate the effects of inertia as the simplifications
made possible by lubrication theory are no longer appropri-
ate.25 Multiphase flow simulations using the volume of fluid
(VOF) method provide a tool to fully explore these effects and
are therefore useful for investigating rivulet breakup dynamics.
In this paper, we consider breakup of a rivulet on an
inclined plate over a wide range of parameters including phys-
ical properties (viscosity and surface tension), contact angle,
and plate inclination angle. We employ VOF formulation as
052101-3 Singh et al.
an interface capturing technique for multiphase flow study.
In Section II, a mathematical model and numerical formu-
lation are presented. Section III discusses the problem setup
including discretization and the different solvent properties
examined. Simulation results on stability of the rivulet are
presented in Section IV. A new correlation is developed for
a critical Weber number demarcating the transition from a
stable to an unstable rivulet that leads to breakup and sub-
sequent droplet formation. The results of the simulations are
then summarized.
II. MATHEMATICAL FORMULATION AND NUMERICAL
METHOD
The volume of fluid (VOF) multiphase method35 is used to
study the breakup of a rivulet flowing down a smooth inclined
plate Recall that unlike an interface tacking method, such as
the Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian technique (ALE), the VOF
method can overcome changes in the interface topology which
will occur during breakup of a rivulet.21 In the VOF method,
the entire flow field is treated as a single phase. Therefore,
the conservation equations are solved for a single shared field.
While a brief sketch of the VOF is provided here, a more
detailed explanation can be found in the Fluent theory guide.36
The governing equations involved in the simulation are shown
∇ · u = 0, (1)
∂(ρu)  
+ ∇ · (ρuu) = −∇p + µ∇ · ∇u + (∇u)T + ρg + F.
∂t
(2)
Here, ρ is the fluid density, p is the pressure, g is gravitational
acceleration, and µ is the fluid viscosity. The surface tension
force, F, produces a jump in the normal traction across the
interface.
The conservation equations (1) and (2) are solved by
a finite volume method. The surface tension force (F) is
expressed as a volume force through the continuous surface
force (CSF) model.37 This force is distributed across the thin
interfacial layer
ρκ∇f
F=σ  . (3)
2 ρg + ρl
1
Here σ is the interfacial tension (which is constant in the CSF
model), κ is the local curvature of the interface, and ∇f is the
gradient in the liquid phase volume fraction (f ).
The interface between the phases is captured by solving an
additional transport equation (4) for the liquid phase volume
fraction (scalar f ). Accordingly, the value of f varies from 0
to 1 (0 corresponding to cells with all gas and 1 corresponding
to all liquid)
∂f
+ u . ∇f = 0. (4)
∂t
In the case of a two-phase simulation, Equation (4) is only
solved for the secondary phase, and volume fraction of the
n The second-order upwind scheme was used in the spatial dis-
primary phase is computed by satisfying constraint fi = 1.
P
i=1
The behavior of the interface between two fluids in con-
tact with the wall is influenced by wall adhesion.37 In the VOF
model used here, this behavior is, by default, dictated through
Phys. Fluids 29, 052101 (2017)
the specification of a static contact angle (γ). A dynamic
contact angle model, discussed next, was also invoked for
comparative purposes in selective cases. In either case (static
or dynamic), the boundary condition is not imposed at the wall
itself, but instead the contact angle that the fluid is assumed to
make with the wall is used to adjust the surface normal in cells
near the wall. Specifically, the normal vector at the interface
is adjusted near the wall by the following equation:
n̂ = n̂wall cos γ + n̂t sin γ, (5)
where n̂wall and n̂t are unit vectors normal and tangential to the
wall, respectively. The vector n̂t lies in the wall and normal
to the contact line (where the interface meets the wall) and is
computed using the following expression:
n̂t = ∇f |∇f |.

(6)
In practice, the contact angle may vary as the rivulet
evolves (e.g., as it spreads or wets the surface) so that a
dynamic contact angle, measured at leading and trailing edge
of rivulet, may differ significantly from the static value.38 Still
the dynamic contact angle is not well understood and a com-
plete theory on contact angle hysteresis is still under develop-
ment.39,40 Nevertheless, a dynamic contact angle model would
provide a more accurate description of the wetting and spread-
ing process. In this effort, the correlation by Yokoi et al.40 for
dynamic contact angle was selected and implemented using a
User Defined Function (UDF). In this case, the dynamic con-
tact angle becomes a function of the velocity of the contact
line (UCL ). Their work is based on Tanner’s law,41 and it is
reproduced here as follows:
{
! 1/3
Ca
 
min γe + , γmDA  if UCL ≥ 0
 kA 
γ (UCL ) = , (7)

Ca
! 1/3 
max γe + , γmDR  if UCL < 0
 kR 
where Ca is the capillary number (Ca = µUCL /σ); kA and kR
are the empirical constants for advancing and receding cases,
respectively, that depend on the surface material; and γ is
the equilibrium contact angle. The quantity γmDA refers to
the maximum dynamic advancing angle, while γmDR refers
to the minimum receding angle. In measurements, these cor-
respond to limits in the contact angle as UCL increases and
decreases, respectively. Thus, the value of the dynamic contact
angle lies within the interval γmDR ≤ γD ≤ γmDA . As evident,
this model requires several parameters for the characterization
of the dynamic contact angle: kA , kR , γmDA , γmDR , and γe . The
selection of these is discussed later.
The flow simulations were conducted in Fluent 14.036
based on the finite volume method using an implicit transient
formulation. The conservation equations (Eqs. (1) and (2))
were solved using a pressure-based solver. Specifically, the
Pressure Implicit with Split of Operators (PISO) algorithm42
was employed for coupling between velocity and pressure.
cretization of all equations. For the volume fraction transport
equation, an explicit formulation was employed. An algebraic
multigrid (AMG) method was used to accelerate the conver-
gence of the solver. Interface capturing was achieved with the
052101-4 Singh et al. Phys. Fluids 29, 052101 (2017)

geometric reconstruction method using the piecewise linear TABLE I. Physical properties of the solvents at 25 ◦ C and 1 atm.
interface calculation (PLIC).43 The convergence of the solu- (MEA: monoethanolamine. MPZ: 1-methylepiperazine. MDEA: N-
methyldiethanolamine. %: Percentage by weight. x: mole fraction).
tion was assumed when the sum of the normalized residual
for each conservation equation was less than or equal to 10 5 . Solvent µ (mPa·s) ρ (Kg/m3 ) σ (mN/m) Ka
The stability of the transient simulation was controlled by the
Courant–Friedrichs–Lewy condition (CFL) condition with a Water 0.89 997 72.8 3969
value of the Courant number of 0.50. Therefore, a very small 20% MEA 1.18 99648 57.849 2173
30% MEA 2.52 98848 5549 750
time step (∆t), varying from 10−5 to 10−4 s, was required
40% MEA 3.71 97948 54.849 450
to satisfy this condition. Consequently, the simulations were
0.07x MPZ50 5.56 1005.3 54.42 258
computationally expensive. 48.8% MDEA 9.25 1016.6 47.56 117
0.10x MPZ50 10.75 1000.9 47.25 93
III. PROBLEM SETUP AND SOLVENT PROPERTIES 0.51x MPZ50 13.36 946.41 34.37 50
0.41x MPZ50 23.48 962.20 35.89 25
We investigate rivulet breakup and identification of flow 0.31x MPZ50 36.42 981.31 38.40 15
regimes for rivulet flow down a smooth inclined plate. A
schematic of the simulation setup is presented in Figure 1(a)
investigated. However, it should be noted that surface tension
showing the inlet and outlet boundaries, the side walls, and the
plays a relatively minor factor in changing the Ka number com-
top and bottom (plate) boundaries. The flow domain consists
pared to viscosity as the values of surface tension vary within
of a smooth plate (60 × 50 mm2 ) inclined 60◦ to horizontal
a relatively narrow range.
(i.e., inclination angle, θ = 60◦ ) with a height of 7 mm (see
The liquid was introduced through a small inlet of dimen-
Figure 1(b)). Air (density (ρ) = 1.185 kg/m3 and viscosity
sion 4 × 2 mm2 located in the middle of the inlet face (see
(µ) = 1.831 × 10 5 Pa s) and industrially used solvents for car-
Figure 1(a)). The inlet was defined by a uniform and constant
bon capture were used as working fluids (see Table I). Air was
velocity perpendicular to the boundary. The remaining part
considered as a stagnant phase.
of the inlet cross section was set as a pressure outlet bound-
A number of alkanolamine-based solutions are being used
ary with zero gauge pressure. The influence of inlet size was
as solvents for carbon capture processes.44,45 Therefore, var-
examined for a single case, which is discussed in more detail
ious aqueous alkanolamines at different concentrations were
below. In brief, however, the solvent flow rate corresponding
used to represent the liquid phase in order to cover a wide
to rivulet breakup was found to be insensitive to inlet size.
range of physical properties. Consistent with previous work,6
The solvent then exits through the outlet face in the presence
the fluid properties are studied in terms of the Kapitza num-
of gravity. The outlet and top boundaries were set as pressure
ber (Ka), which has a fixed value for each solvent and is
outlets with zero gauge pressure. Unless otherwise stated, the
independent of the flow rate
plate and side walls were set as no-slip walls with a static
ρ
! 1/3 contact angle (γ).
Ka = σ 4 . (8) The contact angle is a varying and complex quantity51
µ g
and the value corresponding to each solvent was not read-
The Kapitza number has been extensively used in the ily available in the literature. Note that a solid surface may
film flow community to investigate interfacial wave phe- exhibit different values of γ with change in σ (e.g., vary-
nomena.46,47 As evident, a wide range of Ka numbers are ing solvent).52 Similarly, for a given liquid, the contact angle

FIG. 1. (a) Prospective view of the computational flow

domain showing details of domain. The solvent is flowing
down from top of the inclined smooth plate. (b) Front
view of the flow domain showing the inclination angle
and direction of the gravity.
052101-5 Singh et al.
may also vary with a change in solid surface. As a result, a
static contact angle value of 70◦ , corresponding to water on
steel, was used in the preliminary simulations. However, the
effect of varying contact angle (γ = 30◦ –80◦ ) on the rivulet
breakup and the subsequent droplet formation were also inves-
tigated. As already noted, most cases were conducted using a
static contact angle (SCA). A dynamic contact angle (DCA;
see Equation (7)) model was implemented but the simulation
campaign could not be readily rerun due to the computational
expense involved. As noted earlier, however, a dynamic con-
tact angle provides a more accurate description of spreading
and wetting processes. In view of this, the impact of a DCA
was explored in selective cases for comparative purposes. It is
worth noting that the DCA model involves several empirical
parameters that are not readily available and so representative
values were selected. Ultimately, the SCA and DCA simu-
lations yielded similar results regarding the identification of
a critical Weber number (Wecr ) that represents the transition
from rivulet to droplet flow. The critical Weber number based
on the DCA was slightly lower. This aspect is discussed in
more detail in Sec. V.
The Weber number is a representation of the fluid inertia
and it has been extensively used in the analyses of this type of
flow.53 Here it is computed according to the inlet conditions
as follows:
. also examined for this setup. The predicted value of Wecr
We = ρU 2 DH σ, (9)
where U is the inlet velocity and DH is the inlet hydraulic
diameter. Recall that the hydraulic diameter is defined as 4A/P
where A is the cross-sectional area and P is the wetted perime-
ter of the cross section. For a rectangular inlet, this becomes
Phys. Fluids 29, 052101 (2017)
(2Wh/(W + h)), where W and h are the width and height of the
inlet, respectively.
Meshing is a critical step in constructing a numerical
simulation that will impact the convergence and accuracy of
the simulation. The flow domain was discretized with a non-
uniform structured grid for efficient computations. The mesh
density inside the rivulet and near the interface is finer than
the region adjacent to the surrounding gas (see Figure 2(a)).
Accordingly, a very fine grid was used near the plate and along
the center of the flow domain (see exploded view). A grid inde-
pendence study was also conducted to determine a reasonable
mesh while maintaining grid independent predictions. Only
the grid across the width of the inlet was varied, as opposed to
the whole domain, as breakup of the rivulet occurs proximate
to the longitudinal centerline of the flow domain where the
inlet was located. The rivulet shape at the onset of breakup was
evaluated for different grid resolutions using water (Ka = 3969)
with θ = 60◦ and γ = 70◦ and a Weber number (We) of 0.26. At
this Weber number, a water rivulet undergoes the breakup pro-
cess. The grid resolution is varied from 20 grid points (GPs)
across the width of the inlet region to 40 GP. The shape of the
rivulet at the onset of breakup does not substantially change
with resolutions greater than 26 GP (see Figure 2(b)).
The value of the critical Weber number (Wecr ) that cor-
responds to the transition from rivulet to droplet flow was
remains approximately the same following grid resolutions
of 26 GP or higher (see Table II). Hence, a resolution con-
sisting of 26 GP across the inlet region was chosen as the
optimum mesh. This number of GP corresponds to 1.26 M
cells over the entire simulation domain. It is worth noting that
FIG. 2. (a) Discretization of the com-
putational flow domain showing the
mesh. A very fine mesh was used both
near the plate to capture the film flow
field and in the center of the domain
to capture the rivulet flow dynamics.
(b) Shape of the rivulet at the onset
of breakup for varying grid resolution
using water (Ka = 3969) at We = 0.26,
γ = 70◦ , θ = 60◦ . After 26 GP, the shape
of the rivulet only marginally changes
with further resolution.
052101-6 Singh et al. Phys. Fluids 29, 052101 (2017)

TABLE II. Variation of the critical Weber number (Wecr ) with grid resolu-
tions for a water (Ka = 3969) rivulet at γ = 70◦ .

Grid points at inlet width Number of cells (M) Wecr

20 1.15 0.58
26 1.26 0.50
32 1.31 0.49
40 1.52 0.50

in the investigation of varying inlet size, the number of grid

points across the inlet is also varied to maintain a consistent
grid size according to these grid independent results. Thus, the
total number of cells in those cases will increase as the inlet
size is increased. Overall, mesh sizes ranging from 1.25 to
1.85 M cells were used, which falls within the range reported
by similar numerical studies.20,23

IV. EXPERIMENTAL SETUP

In this work, experiments were carried out for rivulet flow
down a smooth 1 in. thick polycarbonate plate inclined at a 60◦
angle to the horizontal (see Figure 3(a)). The results from the
experiments were used for validation purposes. Three liquids
were used in the experiments including water and two standard
silicon oils with ∼10 cP and 100 cP viscosity. The liquid was
introduced to the top surface of the plate by flowing over a
20 mm wide weir formed by cutting a square pocket into the
top of the polycarbonate plate (see Figure 3(b)). When testing
the water flow, the fluid entered at the back of the pocket via a
1/4 in. metal tube and then passed through two 30 mesh screens
to eliminate turbulence and provide a smooth fluid surface at
the weir. Testing of the ∼10 cP standard silicon oil required
a single 30 mesh screen, while the ∼100 cP fluid required no
screen as the fluid appeared smooth and calm at the top of FIG. 3. (a) Schematic diagram of the test rig of an inclined polycarbonate
the weir without it. The liquid flow rate was set by setting the plate inclined 60◦ to the horizontal, (b) experimental arrangement showing
speed on a gear pump. The fluid was diverted to a cup for a set the rivulet flow over the inclined plate. A 1-cm square grid was placed on the
back side of the plate for dimensional reference.
period and the weight gain determined to determine the flow.
The test was then run without adjusting the pump speed. The
temperature of the circulating fluid was measured using a type flask. Note, the density and surface tension were measured
K thermocouple and used to estimate the actual viscosity at after the addition of the Sudan III dye. The measured surface
test temperature. tension values for the viscosity standards were conducted after
To aid the visibility of the viscosity standards while flow- adding the dye. Data without the presence of the dye were not
ing down the plate, a dye (Sudan III) was added which provides taken to check the influence of the dye on surface tension. The
a red coloration to the flow. The camera was also angled to measured values re-close to what is expected based on litera-
catch the reflection of an overhead fluorescent light to better ture (i.e., 0.0183 vs. 0.0209 N/m (measured vs. literature) for
determine the position of the flow boundaries. Snapshots of 10 cP and 0.0185 vs. 0.0202 N/m (measured vs. literature)
the flow and a corresponding short video were recorded for for 100 cP). So the effect of the dye on the surface tension is
these liquids at different flow rates. A 1-cm square grid placed significant in this case.
on the back side of the plate for dimensional reference was
used to extract the rivulet width. The properties of the fluids
V. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
were also measured. Surface tension of the silicon oils were
measured using a Kruss K-12 tensiometer. The instrument per- In this section, simulation results on the breakup of a
formance was checked before measurements using pure water rivulet on a smooth inclined plate are presented. A critical
and pure ethanol and then checked after measurements using Weber number (Wecr ) is identified which effectively repre-
pure water. The high viscosity of the standards interfered with sents the flow rate for which rivulet breakup occurs and coin-
the ability of the instrument to make measurements using its cides with a transition in the flow regime (from continuous
automated program requiring the measurements to be made rivulet to droplet). As already noted, rivulet dynamics over an
manually. The densities of the silicon oils were determined inclined plate are complex and dictated by many factors, such
by measuring the weight gain in filling a 25 ml volumetric as solvent properties (µ and σ), contact angle (γ), and plate
052101-7 Singh et al.
inclination angle (θ).6 Accordingly, the simulation results are
presented in terms of the following representative dimension-
less parameters: Weber number (We), Kapitza number (Ka),
and dimensionless time (t * ). The Weber number and Kapitza
number were defined in Equations (8) and (9), respectively. To
nondimensionalize time, a time scale was defined as DH µ/σ
by using the inlet hydraulic diameter (DH ) as the length scale
and the capillary velocity (σ/µ) as the velocity scale.18
A. Comparison with experiments
In our previous study of a fully wetted film over a smooth
inclined plate,6 VOF predictions for wetted area and film thick-
ness were found to agree well with the experimental results
of Hoffmann et al.54 and Nusselt theory,55 respectively. To
further ensure the reliability of the current simulations, the
predicted results are qualitatively and quantitatively compared
with those obtained from the experiments conducted as part of
this effort. CFD simulations were conducted for water as well
as for two highly viscous general purpose silicon oils: 10 cS
and 100 cS. In this setup, the simulations were conducted for
a sufficiently long time as to achieve pseudo-steady state for
wetted area of the plate and solvent mass flow at the exit. Once
the rivulets achieved pseudo-steady state, the rivulet width was
measured and compared with that from the experiment.
As shown in Figure 4, the predicted shape of the inter-
face (defined using an iso-surface at volume fraction (f ) of
Phys. Fluids 29, 052101 (2017)
0.5) rivulet matches well with the experiment for water (Ka
= 3969) at two flow rates 9.89 × 10−6 and 8.22 × 10−6 m3 /s
(corresponding to Weber numbers of 0.60 and 0.41, respec-
tively). In this case, predictions from both static (SCA) and
dynamic contact angle (DCA) simulations are shown. Both
experiment and simulations exhibit a similar stationary “braid-
ing” pattern in the flow26 where the rivulet varies in width and
height. The predicted edge of the rivulet (rim) and the max-
imum height (hump) are approximately the same position as
observed in the experiment.
Comparing the rivulet shape obtained from the dynamic
and static contact angle simulations shows that they are not
significantly different for this case. Once the rivulets achieved
pseudo-steady state, the contact lines are relatively immo-
bile. So, it is unsurprising that the dynamic and static con-
tact angle simulations provide similar predictions. In these
cases, a static contact angle of 80◦ was specified in these
cases. Recall that the dynamic contact angle model requires
a number of empirical parameters wherein assumptions are
made for the evolution and hysteresis of the contact angle.39
Here values were selected as to achieve good agreement with
experimental results resulting in kA = 9 × 10−9 , kR = 9 × 10−8 ,
γmDA = 74.8◦ , γmDR = 53.3◦ , and γe = 70◦ . These values were
used in all cases employing a DCA model.
In cases of increasing flow rate, the rivulet can become
significantly diverted and a meandering rivulet may emerge
(see the references of Introduction). This was observed exper-
imentally for the case of water and increasing flow rate. In
such cases of a moving contact line, the contact angle may
be expected to vary. Specification of a static contact angle
would provide an inaccurate description of the process and so
a dynamic contact model becomes necessary. Therefore, sim-
ulations with the DCA model were employed for comparative
purposes. The results are shown in Figure 5 for two flow rates
FIG. 4. Comparison of the CFD predicted rivulet shape using a dynamic
contact angle (DCA) and static contact angle (SCA) with that captured from
experiment for water (Ka = 3969) with θ = 60◦ at 2 Wb numbers: (a) We
(a) 2.20 × 10 3 and (b) 9.30 × 10 4 m3 /s (corresponding to
Weber numbers of 0.03 and 0.005, respectively). Given the
dynamic nature of this phenomenon, the results presented cor-
respond to a single snapshot in time wherein the experimental
results and simulation predictions show similar behavior. As
evident, the flow rates reported in the meandering rivulet cases
(Figure 5) are lower than those of the braiding rivulet exam-
ples (Figure 4). This may be somewhat expected as inertia is
reported to reduce contact line motion (thereby reducing the
dynamic contact angle).56
The simulation predictions for the two general purpose
silicon oils, 10 cS (Ka = 43, ρ = 934 kg/m3 , µ = 9.98 mP, and
σ = 18.3 mN/m) and 100 cS (Ka = 2.10, ρ = 965 kg/m3 ,
µ = 98.2 mP, and σ = 18.5 mN/m), at varying flow rates were
also examined. For these viscous liquids, a stable rivulet (with-
out any undulation) was found at all flow rates investigated.
Variation in rivulet width with the Weber number (We) is pre-
sented in Figure 6. As in the experiment, the width of the
rivulet is measured at a location 60 mm down from the inlet
as depicted by the red line in the inset of Figures 6(a) and
6(b). As shown, the predicted rivulet width matches well with
the experimental measurement at different Weber numbers for
= 0.41 and (b) We = 0.60 (corresponding to flow rates of (a) 8.22 × 10 3 and
both solvents. For 10 cS silicon oil, Figure 6(a), a small dis-
(b) 9.89 × 10 3 m3 /s). The hump and rim show the braiding rivulet due to
instability. The dynamic contact angle is defined by γA = 75◦ , γR = 53.3◦ , and crepancy in the results is seen at low flow rates; however, the
γe = 70◦ while the static contact angle (γ) is 80◦ . difference is ≤10%. An agreement between the CFD predicted
052101-8 Singh et al. Phys. Fluids 29, 052101 (2017)

FIG. 5. Comparison of the CFD predicted rivulet shape using dynamic con-
tact angle (DCA) simulation with that captured from experiment for water
(Ka = 3969) with γA = 75◦ ), γR = 53.3◦ and γe = 70◦ and θ = 60◦ at 2 Wb
numbers (a) We = 0.03 and (b) We = 0.005 (corresponding to low rates of (a)
2.20 × 10 3 and (b) 9.30 × 10 4 m3 /s). In both cases, a dynamic meandering
instability is observed.
rivulet shape and that obtained from experiments is also con-
firmed by the insets. Based on these and previous results, VOF
is considered as an appropriate method for the present multi-
phase flow study. Indeed, VOF has been widely used by others
for studying the different flow regimes exhibited by film flow-
ing down an inclined plate: droplet, rivulet, and film (fully
wetted plate).6,53,57,58
B. Rivulet breakup
An earlier study on interfacial and wetted areas of a sta-
ble rivulet found that the interfacial area was greater than the
wetted area and that this was due to the rivulet morphology
(curvature at the rim along the contact line and to slight rippling
at the surface).6 In the case of a structured packing column
for solvent absorption, uniform films are thought to maxi-
mize mass transfer area, and therefore, breakup into droplets
would be considered unwanted phenomenon. Understanding
the stability properties of the flow in such a system and the
mechanisms involved in breakup and dewetting is of indus-
trial interest. In this view, rigorous simulations are conducted
to identify the rivulet and droplet flow regimes.
As reported in the literature, transition of flow regimes
from a stable film to a rivulet and to a droplet is observed with
decreasing liquid flow rate.53 At low-flow rates, surface tension
forces dominate over inertia, which acts to destabilize the film
FIG. 6. Comparison between the predicted and measured rivulet width, (a)
10 cS (Ka = 43 and γ = 5◦ ) and (b) 100 cS (Ka = 2 and γ = 8◦ ) general purpose
silicon oils with θ = 60◦ . Width of the rivulet was measured at 60 mm from
inlet. Insets show the predicted and observed shape of the interface from the
simulation and experiment, respectively, at a fixed We number with (a) We
= 1.02 and (b) We = 0.75.
resulting in rupture/breakup.7 Accordingly, simulations were
initially conducted at a higher flow rate wherein a stable rivulet
is observed. The solvent flow rate was then gradually reduced
to identify the transition from rivulet to droplet. As earlier, the
effects of the flow rate are presented in terms of the Weber
number.
Figure 7 shows the interface shape for water (Ka = 3969)
at different flow rates. Recall that the interface is defined by an
iso-surface at f = 0.50. As the flow rate is decreased the width
of the rivulet becomes narrower (We = 0.82 and 0.53). A fur-
ther decrease in flow rate reveals smaller rivulets and droplets
(We = 0.37 and 0.13). Therefore, breakup occurs between We
= 0.53 and 0.37. The transition between flow regimes is shown
to depend on a critical Weber number (Wecr ). The value of the
critical Weber number (Wecr ) was determined by observing
animations of the predicted interface and monitoring the exit
052101-9 Singh et al. Phys. Fluids 29, 052101 (2017)

FIG. 7. Shape of the water rivulet (Ka = 3969) at decreasing inlet Weber num-
bers (We) showing the rivulet breakup process and formation of a droplet with
decreasing flow rate. θ = 60◦ and γ = 70◦ .

mass flow rate for either intermittent or steady rivulet flow

(indicating droplet or rivulet flow, respectively) with iterative
refinement in the value of Weber number.
To show the breakup phenomenon more clearly, the
temporal evolution of the interface for water (Ka = 3969)
at We = 0.13 is depicted in Figure 8(a) where time is non-
dimensionalized as t ∗ = tσ/µDH . Here end-pinching can be
observed to lead to breakup of the rivulet. As evident, a bul-
bous end has developed at t * = 3988 along with the onset of
wrist formation. The tip of the rivulet begins to retract because
of surface tension and liquid gathers at the tip. Eventually, a FIG. 8. (a) Temporal evolution rivulet shape (f = 0.50) for water at a Weber
bulbous shape forms at the tip of rivulet that further grows number (We) of 0.13 wherein end pinching leads to the formation of the droplet
(see Figure 8(b)). The wrist formation proximate to the bul- with θ = 60◦ and γ = 70◦ . Time (t) is non-dimensionalized as t ∗ = tσ / DH µ.
(b) A color map of capillary pressure at the onset of breaking (t* = 6749)
bous end, observed clearly at t * = 5829, continuously retracts shows that the greatest pressure appears at the neck.
to become thinner with time. A neck appears at t * = 6749,
which is a precursor to end pinching.
To better explain this breakup mechanism, capillary pres-
sure at the interface was computed and is shown in Figure 8(b).
A local maximum negative capillary pressure exists at the
neck owing to its larger curvature. Due to the pressure gradi-
ent, fluid is accelerated at the neck and driven toward the end
of the rivulet. The accelerated fluid at the neck leads to fur-
ther reduction in the neck radius. Eventually breakup occurs
(t * = 6982) as the bulbous end pinches off and a small cor-
nered droplet (a drop that deviates from the classical spherical
shape) forms. Specifically, the advancing contact line at the
front of droplet remains rounded whereas the rear contact line
at the trailing edge transforms into corner. Thus the corner
at the trailing edge of the droplet develops due to contact
line motion.59 The breakup process repeats when the bul-
bous end reappears at the tip of the rivulet (see Figure 8(a) at
t * = 7670).
The effect of inlet size on the observed behavior of rivulet
breakup was also examined. Specifically, the height of the
inlet (h) was kept constant as 2 mm while the width (W ) was
varied. Figure 9 shows that the value of the critical Weber
number decreases with increasing inlet size. In contrast, the FIG. 9. The effect of inlet width on the critical Weber number (Wecr ) for
corresponding volumetric flow rate was found to remain nearly rivulet breakup using water (Ka = 3969) with γ = 70◦ and θ = 60◦ . Inset shows
constant for all cases (see the inset of Figure 9). This behavior that the corresponding solvent flow rate is insensitive to inlet size.
052101-10 Singh et al.
is consistent with our previous findings concerning the dynam-
ics of a rivulet falling over an inclined plate. In that case, inlet
size had no effect on the developed width of the rivulet for a
given flow rate and contact angle.6 The decrease in Wecr with
increase in inlet width can be explained by considering the
definition of the We number (Equation (9)) and the change
in inlet velocity with inlet size. In particular, as the inlet size
is increased the hydraulic diameter also increases, however,
the magnitude of the square in inlet velocity decreases more
significantly so that Wecr decreases.
C. Effect of the solvent properties
The breakup of a rivulet into droplets is a complex process
dictated by many factors including the physical properties of
the fluid. As mentioned earlier the fluid properties are studied
in terms of the Kapitza number.
The breakup of a rivulet and subsequent regime transi-
Phys. Fluids 29, 052101 (2017)
of a stable rivulet and below the curve a droplet or breakup
of rivulet (shape of the ensuing droplet varies depending on
the case). The region for droplet formation increases with
increasing Kapitza number as shown in Figure 10(a). In other
words, higher flow is required to maintain a stable rivulet with
increasing Ka value as explained further below.
A vertical line is drawn in Figure 10(a) that divides the
plot into two regions of variation in the critical Weber num-
ber (Wecr ) with the Kapitza number. Below Ka (≤100), Fig-
ure 10(b), Wecr linearly varies with the Kapitza number. This
is referred to as region I. Above Ka (>100), Figure 10(c),
Wecr shows a quadratic variation with Ka, Wecr ∼ Ka2 . This
is referred to as region II. The trend in variation of Wecr is
expressed here as follows:
Wecr = AKa Ka ≤ 100
(10)
= AKa + BKa2 > 100,
where A and B are the empirical constants. Recall that high
tion is first explored in WeKa space at a fixed value of the
contact angle and inclination angle: γ = 70◦ and θ = 60◦ . The
impact of these latter two parameters is studied subsequently.
Figure 10(a) indicates the occurrence of two flow regimes and
their transition as it depends on liquid inertia. Specifically, the
curve represents a critical Weber number (Wecr ) with values
of the Weber number above the curve reflecting the presence
: rivulet, and —: Wecr ).
values of Ka imply high interfacial surface tension and/or
low viscosity. Higher values of the surface tension give rise
to enhanced capillary forces and capillary forces act as a
destabilizing effect that then requires higher inertia forces to
stabilize the rivulet. In short, surface tension tends to have a
destabilizing effect, which inertia counteracts.7 On the other
hand, low value of Ka corresponds to high viscosity and/or
FIG. 10. (a) Variation of the critical
Weber number (Wecr) with the Kapitza
number (Ka) for θ = 60◦ and γ = 70◦ .
The value of We above the red curve
shows rivulet and below falls in droplet
(♦: droplet,
Plots of Wecr against Ka shows (b)
linear variation in Region–I and (c)
quadratic variation in Region–II. Inset
shows (b) a cornered droplet with a
pinned satellite droplet for a highly vis-
cous solvent (Ka = 50) and (c) only a
cornered droplet for water (Ka = 3969).
052101-11 Singh et al.
low surface tension. Such solvents show enhanced wetting
characteristics. At these Ka values, viscous forces tend to dom-
inate acting as a dissipative factor that partially suppresses
the breakup instability thereby enhancing the stability of the
rivulet.12 Therefore, a stable rivulet can be achieved at lower
inertia.
The simulations also exhibit slightly different morpholo-
gies during the breakup process depending on the Ka value.
The end-pinching of highly viscous solvents (region 1) show
a small satellite drop along with a bigger daughter droplet.
This behavior is shown in the inset of Figure 10(b) for Ka
= 50. The smaller satellite drop remains pinned to the plate, it
is unable to move, because of its light weight.59 For higher
Ka values (region II), a satellite drop is not predicted in
the breakup of the rivulet (see the inset of Figure 10(c) for
Ka = 3969).
D. Effect of inclination angle
Besides solvent physical properties, the effect of plate
inclination angle on the breakup of a rivulet is also examined.
Inclination angle has been shown to impact various flow fea-
tures such as film thickness, wetted area, and interfacial area.6
As the flow distribution in a structured packing is a key fac-
tor in the absorption efficiency of the column, it is important
to understand how the inclination angle affects the breakup
of rivulet and subsequent flow regime transition. Accordingly,
Phys. Fluids 29, 052101 (2017)
from 30◦ to 60◦ . This result is also consistent with previous
observations based on linear stability analysis based on the
lubrication approximation that reveals the stabilizing effect
of gravity.9,10 Similar to the variation of interfacial area with
inclination angle,6 the critical Weber number also becomes
insensitive to changes in θ beyond 60◦ . For example, the value
of Wecr for 60◦ and 75◦ is almost identical in Figure 11. This
is not surprising considering that (gsinθ) does not significantly
vary in those limits.
E. Effect of contact angle
So far the flow simulations were generally restricted to
a fixed contact angle (γ) of 70◦ . The contact angle between
the fluid and the surface is another important quantity that
reflects the wetting properties of the surface. Smaller values
of the contact angle were found to lead to increased interfacial
area owing to the enhanced surface wettability.6 Note that the
contact angle is a characteristic of a given solid-liquid sys-
tem in specific environment.60 That is, a liquid can exhibit a
different contact angle with a change of solid substrate. More-
over, for a given solid surface, the value of cosγ vs. σ was
observed to follow a linear trend for a homologous series
of liquids. Lower values of σ correspond to smaller contact
angles.52
Contact angle will also play a role on the stability of the
rivulet. The curvature of the interface increases with increasing
the inclination angle was varied from 30◦ to 75◦ (θ = 30◦ 75◦ )
at a fixed contact angle (γ = 70◦ ) for all solvents studied. By
changing the inclination angle, the gravitational effect (gsinθ)
on the rivulet also alters. In particular, an increased value of
θ results in higher film velocity even at the same inlet flow
rate and, in turn, higher inertia. Recall that inertia acts to sta-
bilize the rivulet against opposing capillary forces that tend
to destabilize the rivulet.10 As expected, Wecr is reduced with
increasing θ as shown in Figure 11 for all Ka values studied.
For example, Wecr decreases by ∼17% when θ is increased
FIG. 11. Variation of the critical Weber number (Wecr ) with Kapitza numbers
greater than 100 (Ka > 100) at contact angle (γ) of 70◦ and four inclination
angles (θ). Wecr is not affected by θ beyond θ ≥ 60◦ .
contact angle, which leads to enhanced capillary pressure and
converging of the flow that leads to breakup of a rivulet.31
This tendency toward breakup may be exacerbated for solvents
with large Ka (i.e., characterized in general by high surface
tension). To better understand the effects of contact angle on
rivulet breakup and identification of the critical Weber number
(Wecr ), extensive simulations are conducted for a wide range
of static γ values (30◦ − 80◦ ).
Variation of the critical Weber number (Wecr ) with
contact angle (γ) for different solvents at fixed inclination
angle (θ = 60◦ ) is plotted in Figure 12(a). As expected, Wecr
increases with increased value of γ for all solvents. Further-
more, variation of Wecr with γ is steeper for higher values
of Ka number. Recall that high Ka and γ values promote
breakup requiring enhanced inertia to moderate the insta-
bility. To examine this behavior more closely, the critical
Weber number is renormalized with the critical Weber number
at γ = 70◦ (We70cr ): Wecr = Wecr /Wecr . Two regions in varia-
* 70
tion of Wecr with γ are revealed (figure not shown). In both
regions, the critical Weber number shows a scaling relation as
We*cr ∼ (1 − cosγ)m . Furthermore, the value of the exponent m
is higher at lower values of Ka corresponding to lower values
of σ,
Wecr ∼ (1 − cos γ)m
m = 3, Ka ≤ 100 (11)
= 9 4, > 100.

The scaling relation shown Equation (11) is presented
in Figures 12(b) and 12(c). It is worth noting some simi-
larities between variation in the critical Weber number with
contact angle observed here and variation in interfacial area
with contact angle observed in some earlier studies. In par-
ticular, variation in interfacial area with contact angle also
052101-12 Singh et al.
exhibited two distinct regions for a given set of parameters
influencing the rivulet flow.6,61 In the previous effort, a scal-
ing relation between interfacial area with contact angle as
AIn ∼ (1 − cosγ)−n was shown, where AIn is the normalized
interfacial area and n is an exponent that depends on Ka.6
Solvents having low Ka (<100) value showed steeper varia-
tion of AIn with γ than those having high Ka (>100). In the
present case, however, the trends in variation of Wecr with
contact angle were found to be opposite: solvents having high
Ka value showed stiffer variation of Wecr with γ value con-
tact angle than those having low Ka value. It is worth noting
that the variation in the Wecr with contact angle and variation
in AIn with contact angle are physically consistent. For high
Ka and γ values, the solvent will demonstrate less wettabil-
ity and an enhanced tendency for instability. Therefore, higher
inertia is required to stabilize the rivulet, so eventually Wecr
increases.
Earlier the critical Weber number representing rivulet
breakup was shown to vary as Wecr ∼ Kap , where p = 1 for
Ka < 100 and p = 2 for Ka > 100 for a fixed contact angle
γ = 70◦ (see Figures 10(b) and 10(c) and Equation (10)). This
scaling relation was found to hold for all contact angles, as
shown in the inset of Figure 13. All curves collapse when
the expressions for the critical Weber number as a function
of the Kapitza number (Equation (10)) and the contact angle
Phys. Fluids 29, 052101 (2017)
FIG. 12. (a) Variation of the critical
Weber number (Wecr ) with contact
angle (γ) for different solvents. Scaling
of Wecr with γ in (b) region/zone-I and
(c) region/zone-II. Insets show snap-
shots of the interface for (b) 10 MPZ
(Ka = 96) and (c) water (Ka = 3969) just
after the break-up of the rivulet.
(Equation (11)) are combined. The following phenomenolog-
ical correlation is obtained as shown in Figure 13,
Wecr ∼ Ka(1 − cos γ)3 Ka ≤ 100
(12)
∼ Ka2 (1 − cos γ)9/4 > 100.
In this relationship, solvents with low values of surface
tension (low values of Ka) show a linear variation in Wecr
with Ka and reduced sensitivity to the value of the contact
angle as the term (1 − cosγ)3 decays more quickly than the
term (1 − cosγ)9/4 . In comparison, solvents with high val-
ues of surface tension (high values of Ka) show a quadratic
variation in Wecr with Ka and greater sensitivity to the value
of the contact angle. So solvents with low values of surface
tension (low values of Ka) correspond to lower values of
WeCr . A lower value of Wecr implies a more stable rivulet
even at low flow rate. It is worth noting that low values
of Ka generally correspond to highly viscous solvents, and
that solvents with high viscosity are characterized by lower
values of surface tension62–64 and, in turn, smaller contact
angles.
While this investigation employed a constant and static
value for contact angle, it is recognized that the contact angle
is a varying and complex quantity.51 Still the dynamic contact
angle is not well understood and a complete theory on contact
052101-13 Singh et al. Phys. Fluids 29, 052101 (2017)

FIG. 14. Comparison of the rivulet shape at the onset of breakup for water
(Ka = 3969) and θ = 60◦ for (a) a static contact angle (SCA) defined by γ
= 70◦ corresponding to Wecr = 0.36 and (b) a dynamic contact angle (DCA)
defined by γA = 75◦ , γR = 53.3◦ and γe = 70◦ corresponding to We = 0.26.

FIG. 13. Scaling for the normalized critical Weber number (Wecr ) with the
VI. CONCLUSION
We conducted three dimensional multiphase flow simu-
lations with VOF interface capturing method for studying the
breakup of a rivulet flowing down a smooth inclined plate.
Understanding the factors that lead to rivulet breakup is rel-
evant to industries where the microscopic flow pattern plays
an important role, such as in packings that are employed in
separation and distillation processes. The CFD predictions
compared well with experimental results of a rivulet flowing
down an inclined plate using water as well as highly viscous
liquids. Specifically, the predicted morphology (shape) and
width of the rivulet matched well with those observed in the
experiments. Rivulet breakup is a complex phenomenon. This
process is influenced by many factors including solvent proper-
ties, flow rate (inertia), and inclination angle. Contact angle is
another important parameter representing the wetting charac-
teristics of the system (interaction of the solvent and plate). In
this effort, rivulet breakup through end-pinching was examined
contact angle (γ) and Kapitza number (Ka) for (a) RegionI and (b) RegionII.
Insets shows the variation of Wecr with Ka at different values of γ with θ
= 60◦ .
angle hysteresis is still in development.39,40 Therefore, a com-
parison between the static contact angle (SCA) and a dynamic
contact angle (DCA) model on rivulet breakup was conducted
for a single case involving water (Ka = 3969). The shape of the
rivulet at the onset of breakup is presented in Figure 14 corre-
sponding to a SCA and DCA simulation at We = 0.26 (recall
that rivulet breakup is expected at this We number). A com-
parison reveals slight differences in the shape of the bulbous
end with the DCA case predicting a nearly spherical bulbous
end and the SCA case resulting in a more cornered shape. In
addition, the length of the wrist adjacent to the bulbous end
is longer for the DCA setup than that of the SCA. Besides
comparing rivulet shapes at the onset of breakup, the critical
Weber number (Wecr ) was also compared. The value of Wecr
corresponding to the DCA model was found to be 10% lower
than the corresponding one for the SCA condition. Finally, it
is worth noting that highly viscous solvents may exhibit small
contact angles so that variation in the advancing and receding
contact angle will be not significant.
wherein a rivulet tip retracts due to surface tension causing the
liquid to collect into a bulbous end that is eventually pinched
off.33 This long term instability leads to the breakup and forma-
tion of a droplet. An extensive CFD simulation campaign was
conducted to explore the role of the aforementioned factors on
the breakup phenomenon.
A critical value of the Weber number (Wecr ) that separates
droplet and rivulet regimes was computed as a function of
the Kapitza number. For We values lower than the Wecr , a
droplet is observed, and conversely a rivulet is observed for
higher values of We. The results show that the critical Weber
number increases with increased Kapitza number. This trend
can be understood because high viscosity dampens growth
in the instability, subsequently hindering breakup. Recall that
high values of solvent viscosity and/or low values of surface
tension correspond to low Kapitza numbers. Therefore, low Ka
solvents will tend to exhibit rivulet flow even at low flow rates.
The exact nature of the trend in the variation of Wecr with Ka
depends on the Ka value. Solvents with lower Ka value show
Wecr varying linearly with Ka, while solvents with higher Ka
value show Wecr having a quadratic variation with Ka. The
effect of plate inclination was also explored. The critical Weber
number decreases with increased inclination angle (θ) owing
052101-14 Singh et al.
to accelerated liquid velocity. However, the effect is negligible
beyond θ > 60◦ .
The role of contact angle (γ) on rivulet breakup was also
systematically examined. As the contact angle is increased
so too does Wecr (i.e., greater inertia is required to achieve
stable rivulet flow). As with Wecr versus Ka, Wecr versus γ
shows two trends for variation. Solvents with high Ka values
show steeper variation of Wecr with contact angle than those
with low values of Ka (corresponding to low values of surface
tension). By combining these analyses, a phenomenological
scaling for the critical Weber number with the Kapitza number
and contact angle is presented.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This research was supported in part by an appointment to
the National Energy Technology Laboratory Research Partici-
pation Program, sponsored by the Office of Fossil Energy, U.S.
Department of Energy, through Carbon Capture Simulation
Initiative (CCSI) and administered by the Oak Ridge Institute
for Science and Education. The CFD simulations were per-
formed on NETL supercomputer “Joule.” The authors would
also like to thank Professor Sankaran Sundaresan, Prince-
ton University, for his valuable inputs and discussion on the
project.
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