English

Symmetry-Breaking in Point-Heated Droplets

Fluid Dynamics 2023-07-19 v1

Abstract

We investigate theoretically the stability of thermo-capillary convection within a droplet when heated by a point source from below. To model the droplet, we use a mathematical model based on lubrication theory. We formulate a base-state droplet profile, and we examine its respect to small-amplitude perturbations in the azimuthal direction. Such linear stability analysis reveals that the base state is stable across a wide parameter space. We carry out transient simulations in three spatial dimensions: the simulations reveal that when the heating is slightly off-centered with respect to the droplet center, vortices develop within the droplet. The vortices persist when the contact line is pinned. These findings are consistent with experimental studies of point-heated sessile droplets.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2307.09310,
  title  = {Symmetry-Breaking in Point-Heated Droplets},
  author = {Khang Ee Pang and Charles Cuvillier and Yutaku Kita and Lennon Ó Náraigh},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2307.09310},
  year   = {2023}
}

Comments

15 figures

R2 v1 2026-06-28T11:33:39.411Z