Modeling of electrohydrodynamic flows and micro-bubbles generation in dielectric liquid by lattice Boltzmann equation method

The Lattice Boltzmann Equation (LBE) method was used to simulate a liquid flow with space electric charge. New approach to describe the charge transfer due to convective charge transport was proposed. Simulations of two-dimensional electrohydrodynamic flow showed pulsations caused by the injection of charged blobs and by the hydrodynamic instability of charged jet. Generation and growth of micro-bubbles in strong electric field near the electrode surface was simulated by the LBE method with interparticle interaction. A threshold electric field was found, below that the bubble generation does not occur. At higher fields, the time of bubble development t_d is approximately inversely proportional to the square of the voltage.