Modelling and Simulation of Electrically Controlled Droplet Dynamics

The electrohydrodynamics of millimetric droplets under the influence of slowly varying electric fields is considered. Strong electric fields applied on liquids induce forces driving fluid motion. This effect can be used, among others, in on-demand droplet generators. In this work, we discuss a convection-conduction model for the simulation of droplet motion in strong electric fields. The model focuses on robustness with respect to topology changes and on dynamic charging effects in liquids. We illustrate the model with the simulation of electrically driven droplet generation. The simulated dynamics for droplets with different conductivities are compared with experiments.