Cacey Stevens

Thin film formation during splashing of viscous liquids

After impact onto a smooth dry surface, a drop of viscous liquid initially spreads in the form of a thick lamella. If the drop splashes, it first emits a thin fluid sheet that can ultimately break up into droplets causing the splash. Ambient gas is crucial for creating this thin sheet. The time for sheet ejection, t{ejt}, depends on impact velocity, liquid viscosity, gas pressure, and molecular weight. A central air bubble is trapped below the drop at pressures even below that necessary for this sheet formation. In addition, air bubbles are entrained underneath the spreading lamella when the ejected sheet is present. Air entrainment ceases at a lamella velocity that is independent of drop impact velocity as well as ambient gas pressure.

Creation of prompt and thin-sheet splashing by varying surface roughness or increasing air pressure.

A liquid drop impacting a solid surface may splash either by emitting a thin liquid sheet that subsequently breaks apart or by promptly ejecting droplets from the advancing liquid-solid contact line. Using high-speed imaging, we show that surface roughness and air pressure influence both mechanisms. Roughness inhibits thin-sheet formation even though it also increases prompt splashing at the advancing contact line. If the air pressure is lowered, droplet ejection is suppressed not only during thin-sheet formation but also for prompt splashing.

Scaling of the splash threshold for low-viscosity fluids

The ambient gas pressure is determined for the onset of splashing of low-viscosity liquid drops on smooth dry surfaces as we change the control parameters: drop impact velocity, drop radius, viscosity, surface tension, density, and gas molecular weight. This threshold pressure indicates that there are two distinct regimes when drop impact velocity is varied. By rescaling data using functions of only three dimensionless numbers, the commonly used Reynolds and Weber numbers, as well as the ratio of drop radius to gas mean free path, all data is collapsed to a single curve that encompasses both regimes.