
Meshless numerical modelling of gas-focused liquid micro-jets: Assessment of the gas compressibility effects
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Meshless modelling of gas-focused liquid micro-jets is an emerging area of research with limited existing literature. The state-of-the-art study simulates the formation and breakup of liquid micro-jet with a co-flowing incompressible liquid [1]. Previous mesh-based studies [2,3] and Serial Femtosecond Crystallography (SFX) experiments primarily deal with sonic and supersonic gas velocities. Hence, considering the gas phase being compressible, a meshless solver capable of handling two-phase compressible flows remains needed. In this study, a novel meshless numerical model for Newtonian, compressible, two-phase flows is developed, and simulations are performed to highlight the impact of the compressibility of the gas-phase. The numerical model combines meshless Diffuse Approximate Method (DAM), Phase-Field Method (PFM) and Pressure Implicit with the Splitting of Operators (PISO) pressure velocity coupling algorithm for solving a coupled set of mass, momentum, energy, Cahn-Hilliard and equation of state. The explicit meshless DAM uses weighted least-squares approximation with second-order polynomial shape functions and Gaussian weights on overlapping subdomains. The moving boundary problem between the liquid and the gas phase is handled through a single-domain, fixed-node arrangement in axisymmetry. The DAM parameters (shape parameter of the Gaussian weight function and number of nodes in a local subdomain) are the same as in the authors’ previous study on two-phase incompressible flows [4]. Notably, the model effectively handles the large ratios of the material properties of the fluids (helium and water), a major lacking in the previous meshless studies. The results compare well with the mesh-based finite volume method - volume of fluid studies performed with the open-source Field Operation and Manipulation (OpenFOAM®) code and previously existing results. The jet length, diameter and velocity for the gas considered compressible and incompressible are assessed.