Auto-ejection of liquid from a nozzle.

Auto-ejection of liquid is an important process in engineering applications, and is also very complicated since it involves interface moving, deforming, and jet breaking up. In this work, a theoretical velocity of meniscus at nozzle exit is first derived, which can be used to analyze the critical condition for auto-ejection of liquid. Then a consistent and conservative axisymmetric lattice Boltzmann (LB) method is proposed to study the auto-ejection process of liquid jet from a nozzle. We test the LB model by conducting some simulations, and find that the numerical results agree well with the theoretical and experimental data. We further consider the effects of contraction ratio, length ratio, contact angle, and nozzle structure on the auto-ejection, and observe some distinct phenomena during the ejection process, including the deformation of meniscus, capillary necking, and droplet pinch off. Finally, the results reported in the present work may play an instructive role on the design of droplet ejectors and the understanding of jetting dynamics in microgravity environment.