Coalescence, Partial Coalescence, and Noncoalescence of an Aqueous Drop at an Oil-Water Interface under an Electric Field

Drop-interface interaction under an electric field is relevant in commercial desalters wherein water droplets suspended in oil coalesce under an electric field, move down under gravity, and eventually coalesce with the water pool at the bottom of the desalter. In this work, we report our observation that the transition from coalescence to partial coalescence can be described by a critical electrocapillary number and is independent of the Ohnesorge number. On the other hand, the partial coalescence to noncoalescence transition depends upon both the electrocapillary number and the Ohnesorge number. The bridge during partial coalescence exhibits an electrocapillary-number-independent growth and collapse dynamics, although the transition time for growth to collapse depends upon the electrocapillary number (Ca-E). Lastly, contrary to previous studies, our results indicate that the secondary droplet size varies as Ca-E(3/2) unlike the Ca-E(1)/2 reported in the literature.