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Coalescence of two droplets impacting a solid surface

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Abstract

Coalescence of a falling droplet with a stationary sessile droplet is studied experimentally. High-speed video images are presented to show coalescence dynamics, shape evolution and contact line movement. Emphasis is put on spread length, which is the length of two coalesced droplets along their original centers. Experimental results have shown that the spread length can be larger or smaller than the ideal spread length, which is the spread diameter of individual droplet plus the center-to-center distance between the two droplets. Three different coalescence mechanisms based on comparing the maximum and the minimum spread lengths to the ideal spread length are identified. Correlations for the maximum and the minimum spread lengths are developed, which can be combined with the coalescence domains to determine the deposition conditions for forming continuous or discontinuous lines.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are indebted to James Williams, O′Neil Jason and Dave Mantell from Xerox Corporation for their help. The authors also thank Frankie Yau for his assistance in doing the measurement. This work is supported by Xerox Foundation and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Thermal Systems Laboratory, GE Global Research, One Research Circle, Niskayuna, NY, 12309, USA

    Ri Li

  2. Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, 5 King’s College Road, Toronto, ON, M5S 3G8, Canada

    Nasser Ashgriz & Sanjeev Chandra

  3. Xerox Corporation, Wilson Center for Research & Technology, 800 Phillips Rd. M/S 114-44D, Webster, NY, 14580, USA

    John R. Andrews

  4. Xerox Research Centre of Canada, 2660 Speakman Drive, Mississauga, ON, L5K 2L1, Canada

    Stephan Drappel

Authors
  1. Ri Li
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  2. Nasser Ashgriz
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  3. Sanjeev Chandra
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  4. John R. Andrews
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  5. Stephan Drappel
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Correspondence to Ri Li.

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Li, R., Ashgriz, N., Chandra, S. et al. Coalescence of two droplets impacting a solid surface. Exp Fluids 48, 1025–1035 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-009-0789-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00348-009-0789-0

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