A coupled boundary/finite element method for the computation of magnetically and electrostatically levitated droplet shapes

A coupled Þnite element and boundary element method is developed to predict the magnetic vector and scalar potential distributions in the droplets levitated in an alternating magnetic or electrostatic Þeld. The computational algorithm entails the application of boundary elements in the region of free space and Þnite elements in the droplet region, the two being coupled along the dropletÐair interface. The coupled boundary and Þnite element scheme is further integrated with a WRM-based algorithm to predict the free surface deformation of magnetically and electrostatically levitated droplets. Several corner treatments for the boundary and Þnite element coupling and their implications to free surface calculations are discussed. Detailed formulation and numerical implementation are given. Numerical results are compared with available analytical solutions whenever available. A selection of computed results is presented for magnetically or electrostatically levitated droplets under both terrestrial and microgravity conditions. Copyright