Numerical simulations of turbulent flow in an electromagnetically levitated metallic droplet using k-Ω SST and Reynolds stress models

O. Budenkova - A. Gagnoud - Y. Delannoy

University Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Grenoble INP, SIMAP, F-38000 Grenoble, France

Abstract
Electromagnetic levitation of a metallic droplet in microgravity conditions is modelled considering the droplet shape variation, its displacement and turbulent character of flow in the system. Three different models are applied for the description of turbulent flow in the droplet: the k-ω SST model and two models based on Reynolds stresses (RSM), all of them resulted in a qualitatively similar flow inside the droplet. Using the RSM-based models leads to a sharper interface of the droplet in volume-of-fluid calculations compared to the k-ω SST model. Two RSM models predict a value of the surface tension close to a theoretical one, yet both fail in predicting viscosity of the droplet's material. Figs 6, Refs 10.