Journal
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Volume 112, Issue 11, Pages 3280-3284Publisher
NATL ACAD SCIENCES
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1417718112
Keywords
drop impact; splash; thin air film; Kelvin-Helmholtz instability
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Funding
- Hong Kong General Research Fund (GRF) [CUHK404211, CUHK404912]
- Chinese University of Hong Kong [4053081]
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When a fast-moving drop impacts onto a smooth substrate, splashing will be produced at the edge of the expanding liquid sheet. This ubiquitous phenomenon lacks a fundamental understanding. Combining experiment with model, we illustrate that the ultrathin air film trapped under the expanding liquid front triggers splashing. Because this film is thinner than the mean free path of air molecules, the interior airflow transfers momentum with an unusually high velocity comparable to the speed of sound and generates a stress 10 times stronger than the airflow in common situations. Such a large stress initiates Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities at small length scales and effectively produces splashing. Our model agrees quantitatively with experimental verifications and brings a fundamental understanding to the ubiquitous phenomenon of drop splashing on smooth surfaces.
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