Dynamics of an arched liquid jet under the influence of gravity

Abstract

We investigate the formation and breakup of a liquid jet originating from an orifice and migrating along and perpendicular to the direction of gravity by conducting three-dimensional numerical simulations. In case of the perpendicular injection, jet follows a parabolic path due to the influence of gravity. In this case, both symmetric and asymmetric perturbations are observed on the liquid surface, which in turn lead to jet breakup forming droplets of varying sizes. It is found that the jet breakup length increases with increase in the Weber and the Ohnesorge numbers. The horizontal distance of the liquid jet released from the same vertical height also increases with increasing the value of the Weber number. Increasing the Bond number significantly increases the curvature of the jet trajectory. An interesting phenomena is observed; the detached drops from the main jet exhibit rolling motion, as well as, shape oscillations while migrating along their trajectories.