Droplet impact on a thin liquid film: anatomy of the splash

Abstract

We investigate the dynamics of drop impact on a thin liquid film at short times in order to identify the mechanisms of splashing formation. Using numerical simulations and scaling analysis, we show that the splashing formation depends both on the inertial dynamics of the liquid and the cushioning of the gas. Two asymptotic regimes are identified, characterized by a new dimensionless number $J$: when the gas cushioning is weak, the jet is formed after a sequence of bubbles are entrapped and the jet speed is mostly selected by the Reynolds number of the impact. On the other hand, when the air cushioning is important, the lubrication of the gas beneath the drop and the liquid film controls the dynamics, leading to a single bubble entrapment and a weaker jet velocity.

References in corpus (3)

• Drop Splashing on a Dry Smooth Surface
• Drop impact on a solid surface: short time self-similarity
• Growth and instability of the liquid rim in the crown splash regime

Cited by in corpus (6)

• Drop impact on a solid surface: short time self-similarity
• Impacts on viscous fluids: on ejecta, corolla and splashes
• Drop impact on viscous liquid films
• Capillary-scale solid rebounds: experiments, modelling and simulations
• Impact of droplets onto surfactant-laden thin liquid films
• Droplet splashing during the impact on liquid pools of shear-thinning fluids with yield stress