https://doi.org/10.1140/epjs/s11734-025-01683-z
Regular Article
Electrohydrodynamic manipulation of droplets in confined spaces: impact of geometric eccentricities and material properties
1
Centre Internacional de Mètodes Numérics en Enginyeria (CIMNE), C/Gran Capitán s/n, 08034, Barcelona, Spain
2
Departamento de Ingeniería Química, Colegio de Ciencias e Ingenierías, Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ), 170901, Quito, Ecuador
3
Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya-BarcelonaTech (UPC), C/Jordi Girona 1, 08034, Barcelona, Spain
4
Departamento de Ciencias de la Energía y Mecánica, Universidad de las Fuerzas Armadas-ESPE, Av. General Rumiñahui s/n, 171103, Sangolquí, Pichincha, Ecuador
5
School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering, University of Adelaide, North Terrace, 5005, Adelaide, SA, Australia
6
Departamento de Física, Colegio de Ciencias e Ingeniería, Universidad San Francisco de Quito (USFQ), 170901, Quito, Ecuador
Received:
24
July
2024
Accepted:
6
May
2025
Published online:
25
May
2025
This paper takes the advantage of the elemental enriched finite element method to provide a comprehensive analysis of the factors influencing the electrohydrodynamics of droplets confined within microspaces. Specifically, the impact of electrical property ratios (permittivity and conductivity) and eccentricities along the x- and y-axes on droplet deformation is investigated. A critical confinement size is revealed based on the findings of the paper: below this threshold, droplet deformation exhibits a transition, in contrast to the observations made in unbounded domains. Furthermore, the numerical results demonstrate a strong deformation dependence on both the electrical properties ratios and the confinement ratio itself. It is found that the deformation parameter shows a monotonic decrease as the conductivity ratio increases relative to the permittivity ratio. The study further reveals that droplet location within the domain plays a crucial role. When centered, pressure forces become relevant at high confinement ratios, primarily affecting prolate droplets, while electric forces dominate the shaping of oblate droplets. For off-center droplets (with geometric eccentricity), the pressure force becomes even more critical.
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© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to EDP Sciences, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2025
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
