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The electrocoalescence behavior of surfactant-laden droplet pairs in oil under a DC electric field was investigated in this paper. The characteristic parameters such as coalescence time, liquid bridge diameter and contact angle were analyzed for varying surfactant concentrations and electric capillary numbers. The results show that the horizontal electrocoalescence of two identical droplets with the same physical properties is symmetrical. Moreover, the surfactant has a significant influence on the pressure difference at the liquid bridge, which results in a variation of the liquid bridge growth and coalescence time. The pressure difference between the droplet and the liquid bridge is significantly dependent on the initial contact angle, which is determined by the electric capillary number Ca and surfactant concentration. The theoretical analysis and experimental results show that the large initial contact angle restrains the growth of the liquid bridge in the initial coalescence stage. Considering the effect of the initial contact angle, a characteristic time is proposed to describe the evolution of the liquid bridge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The excessive electric field gives rise to droplet non‐coalescence and droplet chains in the electric dehydrator, which severely deteriorates oil–water separation efficiency and even leads to short circuit. To reveal the underlying mechanism of droplet non‐coalescence, dynamic behavior of two neutral droplets in silicone oil under a direct current electric field is investigated by using high‐speed photography. The experimental results show that there exists a critical electric field strength above which two droplets will bounce off after the contact. The critical electric field strength of droplet non‐coalescence is affected by the initial separation distance between droplets, the radius of droplet, and the surfactant concentration. Whether the non‐coalescence behavior occurs in the electric field is determined by the competition of electric force and capillary force, which dominates the evolution of tiny connection channel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Droplet response mode depends on electric capillary number and viscosity ratio. • Liquid bridge growth is dominated by interface tension instead of electric stress. • Dimensionless liquid bridge radius is linear with the conical angle. Deformation and coalescence behaviors of water droplets in viscous fluid under a direct current electric field are investigated with experiments and numerical simulations. An electro-hydrodynamic model is developed based on fluid dynamics equations and electrostatic equations. A coupled level set and volume of fluid method is proposed to capture the dynamic interface. The numerical results are validated to be in good accordance with classic results in the literature. The effects of electric capillary number Ca and viscosity ratio λ on droplet deformation and coalescence are systematically analyzed. Two different droplet response modes are obtained, namely overdamping response and underdamping response. The conversion of response modes is discussed with the (Ca, λ) phase diagram. Moreover, the distributions of electric field and flow field before and after the droplets contact are compared and analyzed. Numerical results show the time evolution of liquid bridge is dominated by the interfacial tension and viscosity of continuous phase. The electric stress is extremely weak at the liquid bridge and has a slight influence on evolution of liquid bridge. The correlation formula between dimensionless liquid bridge radius and conical angle during the growth of liquid bridge is regressed. These results are helpful for the optimization of electro-coalescence process. Image, graphical abstract [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Addition of silica nanoparticles affects droplet–interface electrocoalescence. • Reduced interfacial tension, increased water conductivity are responsible for effect. • Effect of field strength is pronounced compared to that of initial droplet size. • Formation of a ring by the separation of vortices is visualized by nanoparticles. • A group (electric We × Oh) is not suitable for coalescence containing nanoparticles. Abstract Electric dehydration method is widely used in oil industry to separate water from oil. Droplets resting on the oil–water interface discharge their liquids into the bulk phase, and the process can be altered by the change of electric field strength (E) or properties of water. Phenomenon of silica (SiO 2) nanoparticle-laden droplets coalescing with a planar interface under direct current electric field was observed using a high-speed digital video camera. The effects of initial droplet diameter (D), E , and weight percent of nanoparticles in deionized water (C) were studied experimentally. The results showed that increasing D or E contributed to the formation of secondary droplets. Addition of SiO 2 nanoparticles to water produced two competing effects: reduction in oil–water interfacial tension and increase in water conductivity, and a shift in the dominant effect occurred with the increase of E. Furthermore, formation of a ring by the separation of vortices was visualized by movement of nanoparticles in experiments, and its downward moving velocity decreased with time, which is small compared to that reported in literature. Finally, it was confirmed that the dimensionless WO number is not suitable for describing the volume fraction of secondary droplets for droplet–interface coalescence containing nanoparticles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]