Theoretical and Experimental Studies of Circulations Inside and Outside a Deformed Drop Under a Uniform Electric Field

A finite element computational technique has been developed for exactly calculating circulations inside and outside a dielectric drop suspended in another dielectric fluid under a uniform electric field. This technique allows the prediction of not only the circulations but also drop deformation caused by electric and dynamic forces acting over the drop surface. Computed results show that the direction of the circulations and the drop deformation depend on physical properties of the fluids, especially the drop-to-medium ratios of electric conductivity and dielectric constant. These results are in good agreement with Taylor’s analytical solutions and authors’ experimental observations.