Numerical methods for the simulation of a coalescence-driven droplet size distribution

The droplet size distribution in a turbulent flow field is considered and modeled by means of a population balance system. This paper studies different numerical methods for the 4D population balance equation and their impact on an output of interest, the time-space-averaged droplet size distribution at the outlet, which is known from experiments. These methods include different interpolations of the experimental data at the inlet, various discretizations in time and space, and different schemes for computing the coalescence integrals. It will be shown that noticeable changes in the output of interest might occur. In addition, the computational efficiency of the studied methods is discussed.