Experimental investigation into three-dimensional wavy liquid films under the influence of electrostatic forces

Wilko Rohlfs*, Georg F. Dietze, Herman D. Haustein, Oleg Yu Tsvelodub, Reinhold Kneer

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Three-dimensional interfacial waves that develop on the free surface of falling liquid films are known to intensify heat and mass transfer. In this context, the present paper studies the effect of electrostatic forces applied to a falling film of dielectric liquid on its three-dimensional nonlinear wave dynamics. Therefore, measurements of the local film thickness using a confocal chromatic imaging method were taken, and the complex wave topology was characterized through photography. The experiments show a complex interaction between the electric field and the hydrodynamics of the falling film, whereby electrostatic forces were found to both increase and decrease wave peak height in different regions of the wave. Additionally, an electrically induced breakup of the three-dimensional wave fronts, which leads to a locally doubled frequency in streamwise direction, is found. The ability to influence the wave topology demonstrated here opens the possibility to optimize heat transfer processes in falling liquid films.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1045-1056
Number of pages12
JournalExperiments in Fluids
Volume53
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2012
Externally publishedYes

Funding

FundersFunder number
Deutsche ForschungsgemeinschaftDFG KN 764/3-1

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