Numerical Investigation of Evaporation Induced Self-Assembly of Sub-Micron Particles Suspended in Water
Abstract
Self-assembly of sub-micron particles suspended in a water film is investigated numerically. The liquid medium is allowed to evaporate leaving only the sub-micron particles. A coupled CFD-DEM approach is used for the simulation of fluid-particle interaction. Momentum exchange and heat transfer between particles and fluid and among particles are considered. A history dependent contact model is used to compute the contact force among sub-micron particles. Simulation is done using the open source software package CFDEM which basically comprises of two other open source packages OpenFOAM and LIGGGHTS. OpenFOAM is a widely used solver for CFD related problems. LIGGGHTS, a modification of LAMMPS, is used for DEM simulation of granular materials. The final packing structure of the sub-micron particles is discussed in terms of distribution of coordination number and radial distribution function (RDF). The final packing structure shows that particles form clusters and exhibit a definite pattern as water evaporates away.
- Publication:
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arXiv e-prints
- Pub Date:
- January 2016
- DOI:
- 10.48550/arXiv.1601.04643
- arXiv:
- arXiv:1601.04643
- Bibcode:
- 2016arXiv160104643T
- Keywords:
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- Physics - Computational Physics;
- Condensed Matter - Soft Condensed Matter
- E-Print:
- ASME 2016 5th Micro/Nanoscale Heat &