Integral modelling of weakly evaporating 3D liquid film with variable substrate heating

Fuente: arXiv
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Autor principal: Pino, Fabio
Formato: Preprint
Publicado: 2025
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author Pino, Fabio
author_facet Pino, Fabio
contents Analysing the dynamics of phase-changing liquid films is essential for enhancing the performance of thermal management systems. Still, direct simulation of the full governing equations is computationally expensive. To circumvent this limitation, I derived a weighted-integral boundary-layer (WIBL) model under long-wave assumptions, weak evaporation, and strong surface tension, also accounting for variable substrate heating. In the linear regime, the WIBL reproduces growth rates and the cutoff wavenumber of unstable modes with significantly higher accuracy than commonly used Benney-type models for Re<40, as compared to the Orr-Sommerfeld equations. The linear analysis further reveals a threshold separating streamwise- and spanwise-dominated instabilities in hanging films, arising from the competition between Kapitza and Rayleigh-Taylor mechanisms; the WIBL predicts this threshold accurately for small Re and inclination angles. In the nonlinear regime, with substrate heating that varies in both space and time, the WIBL model captures the evolution of free-surface thickness and temperature within approximately 6% of the original Navier-Stokes equations. Three-dimensional simulations show that a condensing film undergoes dry-out due to Kapitza instability, whereas unsteady substrate heating promotes spanwise momentum spreading, modifies wave dynamics, and prevents dry-out. The WIBL model provides a good level of accuracy at a low computational cost, enabling extensive parametric studies, nonlinear stability analyses, and the design of optimal substrate-heating control strategies.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_21299
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Integral modelling of weakly evaporating 3D liquid film with variable substrate heating
Pino, Fabio
Fluid Dynamics
Analysing the dynamics of phase-changing liquid films is essential for enhancing the performance of thermal management systems. Still, direct simulation of the full governing equations is computationally expensive. To circumvent this limitation, I derived a weighted-integral boundary-layer (WIBL) model under long-wave assumptions, weak evaporation, and strong surface tension, also accounting for variable substrate heating. In the linear regime, the WIBL reproduces growth rates and the cutoff wavenumber of unstable modes with significantly higher accuracy than commonly used Benney-type models for Re<40, as compared to the Orr-Sommerfeld equations. The linear analysis further reveals a threshold separating streamwise- and spanwise-dominated instabilities in hanging films, arising from the competition between Kapitza and Rayleigh-Taylor mechanisms; the WIBL predicts this threshold accurately for small Re and inclination angles. In the nonlinear regime, with substrate heating that varies in both space and time, the WIBL model captures the evolution of free-surface thickness and temperature within approximately 6% of the original Navier-Stokes equations. Three-dimensional simulations show that a condensing film undergoes dry-out due to Kapitza instability, whereas unsteady substrate heating promotes spanwise momentum spreading, modifies wave dynamics, and prevents dry-out. The WIBL model provides a good level of accuracy at a low computational cost, enabling extensive parametric studies, nonlinear stability analyses, and the design of optimal substrate-heating control strategies.
title Integral modelling of weakly evaporating 3D liquid film with variable substrate heating
topic Fluid Dynamics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.21299