Free-energy 型格子ボルツマン法を用いた固体表面のぬれシミュレーション

Powder wettability is one of the important characteristics in various industrial powder processes. Understanding and modeling the liquid penetration into the powder layer are essential to evaluate the powder wettability. For this purpose, the numerical simulation is a promising approach. However, it has been challenging to effectively simulate the wetting phenomena on complex solid surface such as powder layer. In this paper, as a first step of modeling the wetting of powder layer, a numerical simulation model for the liquid penetration phenomena was developed using the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) with the free-energy model. Our model was validated by two simple numerical problems. The simulation model was then applied to the system where the meniscus formed at the liquid-liquid interface in circular and square channels. Here, the square channel can be considered as a simplest model for the flow path inside the powder layer. Finally, the liquid penetration phenomena in the two channels were demonstrated.