Effect of inertia on droplet growth in a fluid

Abstract

The effect of inertia on droplet growth in a d-dimensional (simple) fluid mixture is investigated. Four typical growth laws of average droplet radius are obtained: two conventional ones ($t^{1/d}$ and t) and two new ones ($t^{2/(d+2)}$ and $t^{2/3}$). The regions of the applicabilities of these growth laws are investigated. Far away from the critical point, or for earlier or later stages of phase separation, new growth laws ($t^{2/(d+2)}$ and $t^{2/3}$) are dominant. These new laws represent droplet growth in the case of high Reynolds numbers where the inertia of the fluid is important and the system may be turbulent.