Capturing non-Newtonian power-law drops by horizontal thin fibers with circular crosssection in a quiescent media can be studied in this chapter. The case is simulated using volume of fluid (VOF) method providing a notable reduction of a computational cost. Open source OpenFOAM software is applied to conduct the simulations. This model is an extension of the one developed earlier by Lorenceau, Clanet, and Quéré [1]. To validate the model, water drops affecting a fiber of radius 350μm were simulated and threshold drop radiuses were obtained regarding to the impact velocity. These results agreed well with the experimental data presented by Lorenceau et al. [1]. In the next step, non-Newtonian power-law drops landing on thin fiber of radius 350μm were simulated. The final goal of this study was to obtain the threshold velocity and radius of a drop that is completely captured by the fiber. Threshold radiuses for both shear-thinning and shear-thickening drops were obtained and compared with corresponding Newtonian drops. Results show that the threshold radius of drop increases in a fixed velocity as n, power-law index, increases. Furthermore, shear-thinning nature of the drop leads to instabilities in high Reynolds numbers (Re) as it influences the fiber.
Part of the book: Recent Advances in Thermo and Fluid Dynamics