Numerical Study of Droplet Impact on Inclined Surface: Viscosity Effects

Water management is still a critical challenge in the commercialization and development of proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). Recently, in the numerical investigation of gas-liquid dynamics, the dynamic contact angle (DCA) has been considered as a crucial parameter and boundary condition in two-phase flow model. In this study, as one part of the robust DCA model development, the numerical simulation of glycerin droplet impact on inclined surface is conducted using DCA model. However, with the original parameters from the experiment, it is found that the numerical results have difficulty to match the experimental results. Considering the properties of the glycerin solution could vary in the experiment, the liquid viscosity is recalculated and the effects of different viscosities on droplet behaviors are investigated. The results show that higher liquid viscosity will make the droplet rebound from the surface more easily, and also shorten the sliding distance and droplet spreading length.