Ouzo Column under Impact: Formation of Emulsion Jet and Oil-Lubricated Droplet

We investigated the dynamics of a liquid column consisting of ouzo emulsion under the impact generated when the liquid container lands on a hard ground. At a cavitation number of 0.36, where cavitation is expected to occur, our high-speed videography captured the traveling jet and cavitation bubbles while the oil microdroplets in ouzo after different runs of impact were visualized by an optical microscope. Importantly, the impact on an ouzo column can eject a focused jet of the emulsion and deposit a small volume of emulsion on a solid substrate. As revealed by our still photography, the deposited emulsion formed an oil-lubricated drop immediately. Our findings have implications for jetting applications such as inkjet printing of emulsions or fast deposition of self-lubricating drops for assembling supraparticles. We also discuss the jet formation mechanism in terms of the existence of oil microdroplets.

Automated summary

The dynamics of a liquid column of ouzo emulsion under impact were investigated, revealing the presence of a traveling jet, cavitation bubbles, and oil-lubricated drops. The study has implications for applications such as inkjet printing and fast deposition of self-lubricating drops, and discusses the jet formation mechanism in relation to the existence of oil microdroplets.