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Problem with negative pressure

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I've just started using COMSOL this year and I'm trying to prove the Young-Laplace equation.

I'm using a 2D Laminar Two-Phase flow to simulate a droplet of water of radius=0.25m in engine oil (which is a square of 1.28 by 1.28 m)

The Young-Laplace equation states that the pressure difference across the interface will be equal to the surface tension divided by the radius of the droplet.

To test this relationship I am simply inputting a user defined surface tension and recording the pressure it gives me, however for a few surface tension values I use it gives a negative pressure, the difference of the two negative pressures still proves the relationship but why is it only negative for certain surface tension values?

It would also help if someone could tell me how to access the surface tension values from the library, I could use a water/olive oil surface tension coefficient but I cant find the value anywhere.

1 Reply Last Post Apr 19, 2012, 7:55 a.m. EDT
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Nagi Elabbasi Facebook Reality Labs

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Posted: 1 decade ago Apr 19, 2012, 7:55 a.m. EDT
COMSOL provided the references it used to obtain these surface tension values in the documentation. However, it is easier to find the values used by plotting the surface tension coefficient from the results.

Regarding the negative “gauge” pressures, the Young-Laplace equation only controls the pressure difference along the interface. The actual values on both sides of the interface depend on the rest of the model.

Nagi Elabbasi
Veryst Engineering
COMSOL provided the references it used to obtain these surface tension values in the documentation. However, it is easier to find the values used by plotting the surface tension coefficient from the results. Regarding the negative “gauge” pressures, the Young-Laplace equation only controls the pressure difference along the interface. The actual values on both sides of the interface depend on the rest of the model. Nagi Elabbasi Veryst Engineering

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