Electrohydrodynamic Simulation of Electrospray Thruster Extraction

Huh, Henry; Wirz, Richard E.

doi:10.2514/6.2022-1359

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…2011; Roghair et al. 2015; Huh & Wirz 2022). Presently, the model of Misra & Gamero-Castaño (2022) is supplemented with the standard transport equation for ion field emission (Iribarne & Thomson 1976; Loscertales & Fernández De La Mora 1995): where is the ion current density evaporated from the surface, is the Boltzmann constant, is the temperature of the liquid, is the surface charge density and is Planck's constant.…”

Section: Problem Formulation and Numerical Set-upmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ion emission from nanodroplets undergoing Coulomb explosions: a continuum numerical study

Misra

Gamero-Castaño

2023

J. Fluid Mech.

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A droplet charged above the Rayleigh limit is unstable. In the resulting dynamical process, referred to as a Coulomb explosion, smaller droplets with higher charge-to-mass ratios are ejected, reducing the charge of the parent droplet below the Rayleigh limit. Furthermore, if the droplet is sufficiently small, the electric field on its surface can promote ion field emission. Ion emission can lower the charge of a spherical droplet below its Rayleigh limit, keeping it stable, or reduce the charge of a deforming droplet, changing its dynamics and potentially preventing the Coulomb explosion. This article develops a continuum phase field electrohydrodynamic model to study the interplay between Coulomb explosions and ion emission, using charged nanodroplets of the ionic liquid 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (EMI-Im) as a case study. In small droplets (diameter $D \lesssim 20$ nm for EMI-Im), the electric field is strong enough to emit ions in the early phase of the droplet's evolution, suppressing the Coulomb explosion. For $20 \lesssim D \lesssim 45$ nm, the electric field on the EMI-Im droplet may not promote significant ion emission; however, as the unstable droplet becomes ellipsoidal, ions are emitted from its vertices, ultimately suppressing the Coulomb explosion while shedding $20\unicode{x2013}40\,\%$ of the initial charge. For larger EMI-Im droplets, $45 \lesssim D \lesssim 100$ nm, the evolution typical of a Coulomb explosion is observed, accompanied by ion emission which is however insufficient to prevent the Coulomb explosion. Ion emission and the smaller progeny droplets account for $24\,\%$ and $16\,\%$ of the initial charge, respectively.

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