Numerical investigation of different modes of internal circulation in spherical drops: Fluid dynamics and mass/heat transfer

Concerning the internal problem of mass/heat transfer, the various internal flow modes show different characteristics. At low internal Peclet numbers, higher Sherwood numbers are reached for the Hill's vortex-like cases, whereas at higher Peclet numbers, the transfer is faster for the alternative modes. For cases with a Hill's vortex-like solution, asymptotic Sherwood numbers for very high Peclet numbers of around 20 are found, whereas no upper limit for cases with alternative modes can be determined. In the present study a maximum internal Sherwood number of 130 is reached, more than six times the maximum value for a case with a Hill's vortex-like internal solution.