To
understand the mechanism of droplet dispersion, the behaviors
of a droplet impacting on a single-layer wire mesh were investigated
by computational fluid dynamics simulations with a detailed 3D geometry
of real woven wire meshes. After validating the simulation data, the
effects of different operating conditions on the liquid dispersion
were systematically studied. The results showed that the cone angle
of dispersion of the hydrophobic wire mesh increased by 37–103%,
compared with the hydrophilic wire mesh. A more accurate dispersion
angle can be obtained by the 3D simulation, compared to the previous
high-speed imaging experiments with 2D photographs. The ratio of dissipated
energy of the droplet impacting on the hydrophobic wire mesh was 29%
lower than that on the hydrophilic wire mesh, allowing us to reveal
the dispersion intensification mechanism of droplet breakage. This
study provides insights into the droplet impaction and dispersion
on the wire mesh packing, which can guide reactor design and optimization.