Numerical investigation on the characteristics of single droplet deformation in the airflow at different temperatures

Micro-sized droplets in air may impact aircraft wings and induce severe ice accretion. The deformation and acceleration of a single droplet in a continuous airflow are simulated using the multiphase lattice Boltzmann flux solver to compute the flow field, and the phase-field method is used to track the droplet–air interface. The effects of droplet size, airflow velocity, and ambient temperature on the morphological evolution, flow field structure, and droplet motion are analyzed. The results indicate that the deformation of the droplet increases with Weber number, which distinguishes different deformation modes. With the increase in the droplet size and airflow velocity, the deformation of the droplet becomes greater in less time, and the characteristic alternate compressions in the axial and radial directions disappear. Moreover, different subzero temperatures have little effect on the droplet acceleration despite a different deformation amplitude, while the droplet acceleration is attenuated at normal temperatures.