A systematic study of a droplet breakup process in decaying homogeneous isotropic turbulence using a mesoscopic simulation approach

ABSTRACT The breakup of a spherical droplet in a decaying homogeneous isotropic turbulence is studied by solving the Cahn–Hilliard–Navier–Stokes equations. This flow provides a great opportunity to study the interactions of turbulent kinetic energy and interfacial free energy and their effects on the breakup dynamics. Three distinct stages of droplet evolution, namely, the deformation stage, the breakup stage, and the restoration stage, are identified and then analysed systematically from several perspectives: a geometric perspective, a dynamic perspective, a global energetic perspective, and a multiscale energy transfer perspective. It is found that the ending time of the breakup stage can be estimated by the Hinze criterion. The kinetic energy of the two-phase flow during the breakup stage is found to have a power-law decay with an exponent , compared to for the single-phase flow, mainly due to the enhanced viscous dissipation generated by the daughter droplets. Energy spectra of the two-phase flow show power-law decay, with a slope between and , at high wave numbers, both in the Fourier spectral space and in the spherical harmonics space.