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Behavior of a water droplet impacting a thin water film

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Abstract

The splash morphology and central jet characteristics of a water droplet impacting a thin water film were investigated for carefully controlled liquid film thicknesses of 120–700 μm using a chromatic confocal displacement sensor. The investigations studied the influences of liquid film thickness, impact velocity and surface characteristics. The coalescence and prompt splash morphologies that included three secondary types were presented in a scatter map based on parameter K and dimensionless film thickness δ. A critical threshold was found between a prompt splash with a delayed splash and a prompt splash without a delayed splash. The results show that the splash morphology is sensitive to the film thickness in this range. The surface characteristics affect the expanding of the crown base by changing the flow drag. Observations of the central jet show that the active central jet breakup depends on the film thickness and the impact velocity.

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Abbreviations

d 0 :

Droplet dimeter, mm

D c :

Crown diameter, mm

D c * :

Dimensionless crown diameter

H c :

Crown height, mm

H c * :

Dimensionless crown height

h :

Liquid film thickness, mm

K :

We·Oh−0.4

Oh :

Ohnesorge number

Ra :

Roughness, μm

Re :

Reynolds number

S :

Dimensionless roughness

We :

Weber number

v :

Impact velocity, m/s

δ :

Dimensionless film thickness

θ :

Contact angle, °

γ :

Crown front angle, °

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52076009 and No. U2067210). We also thank Dr. Xiaolong Ouyang and Dr. Rong Li for helpful discussions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical and Electrical, Beijing University of Chemical Technology, Beijing, 100029, China

    Jiamin Zhu, Tao Lu, Yan Luo & Xue Chen

  2. Beijing Graphene Institute, Beijing, 100095, China

    Ce Tu

  3. School of Ocean and Civil Engineering, Dalian Ocean University, Dalian, 100071, China

    Kun Zhang

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  1. Jiamin Zhu
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  2. Ce Tu
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  3. Tao Lu
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  4. Yan Luo
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  5. Kun Zhang
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  6. Xue Chen
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Correspondence to Xue Chen.

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Zhu, J., Tu, C., Lu, T. et al. Behavior of a water droplet impacting a thin water film. Exp Fluids 62, 143 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-021-03245-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-021-03245-0

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