Flattening of a hollow droplet impacting a solid surface

The interaction of a hollow droplet impacting a solid surface occurs in several applications, including controllable biomedicine and thermal spray coating. Understanding the physics of the hollow droplet spreading is the key to maintaining the mass transfer process in all relevant applications. In this work, a comprehensive experimental, numerical and theoretical study is performed on water hollow droplets impacting a rigid surface to better understand the flattening process of a hollow droplet. In the numerical part, compressible Navier-Stokes equations are solved using the volume of fluid (VOF) method in a two-dimensional (2-D)-axisymmetric model. The comparison of simulation results with the experimental photographs shows that the numerical solution can correctly predict the hollow droplet shape evolution. The results show that the spreading diameter and height of the counter-jet formed after the hollow droplet impact grow with impact velocity. Investigating the size and location of the entrapped bubble shows an optimum bubble size that facilitates the hollow droplet flattening. It is also shown that the ripples on splats produced by the hollow droplets with a larger bubble size are higher than those of small bubbles. In the end, a theoretical model is developed to analyse the maximum spreading diameter of the hollow droplet impact analytically. Its prediction is in good agreement with the experimental and numerical results.

Automated summary

In this study, the spreading process of a hollow droplet impacting a rigid surface is investigated through experimental, numerical, and theoretical methods. Numerical simulations successfully predict the shape evolution of the hollow droplet, which is validated by experimental photographs. The results demonstrate that the spreading diameter and height of the hollow droplet increase with impact velocity. Additionally, an optimal bubble size is identified to facilitate the flattening process, and it is found that the ripples on the splats produced by larger bubbles are higher. A theoretical model is developed, which accurately predicts the maximum spreading diameter and agrees well with experimental and numerical results.