physics.flu-dynSep 29, 2026

Probabilistic Symbolic-Distillation Model of Droplet Collision for Spray Simulation at High Ambient Pressures

Authors: Weiming Xu, Tao Yang, Peng Zhang

Organizations: Department of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, 999077, Hong Kong · Shenzhen Research Institute, City University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, 518057, P. R. China

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Abstract

Droplet collision governs droplet population dynamics in many chemical engineering processes, such as spray drying, spray cooling, agricultural spraying, and combustion. Existing analytical models impose deterministic, pairwise boundaries between collision outcomes, whereas machine-learning classifiers lack the explicit functional form required of analytical collision submodels. In this study, we develop a probabilistic symbolic-distillation model using nearly forty thousand experimental events spanning eight regimes and five dimensionless parameters, including over five thousand data for ambient pressure up to 50 atm. A machine-learning teacher learns the joint outcome-probability landscape from these data, and symbolic regression subsequently distils it into eight class-specific expressions that jointly define a coupled analytical model. The resulting analytical field replaces abrupt regime switching with finite-width fuzzy boundaries. It outperforms the evaluated conventional analytical boundary models and reveals that their main limitation is the inability of zero-width boundaries to represent gradual probability transitions. The "biased-dice" sampling scheme provides a statistically consistent and practically convenient model implementation for Eulerian-Lagrangian spray simulation.

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Department of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon Tong, Kowloon, 999077, Hong Kong · Shenzhen Research Institute, City University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen, 518057, P. R. China

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