Comparing the simulation thickness profile and expansion curve to those of experiments

In this research, we simulate a tin droplet being hit by a laser using the Basilisk flow solver. When the droplet is hit, it flattens into a sheet with a rim that expands and later retracts. During this process, ligaments can be shed from the rim, and we are interested in predicting how this happens by analyzing the thickness profile of the sheet and the expansion curve. We run nine simulations using three different Weber numbers (We = 100,200,500) and three different values for the width of the pressure profile, which is a raised cosine with W indicating the width (W = 1.5,1.75,2). From each simulation, we extract the sheet thickness and its radius over time. We use non-dimensional values and use the models in this paper to collapse the curves to show a clear pattern in how the sheet evolves. We also extract the expansion curves and compare them with models and experiments from literature. We find that the sheet expands later in the simulations than in experiments. This is likely due to the lack of mass shedding in the simulated rim, which would otherwise lower the rim mass and causes it to retract earlier. Lastly, we test an identity that links the expansion and thickness profile models and find that our simulation parameters do not match the identity, because of the lack of mass shedding.