2014/01/27 by Guillaume Riboux, Riboux, Guillaume, José Manuel Gordillo +1
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Engineering · #FOS: Physical sciences #Fluid Dynamics (physics.flu-dyn) #Fluid Dynamics Simulations and Interactions #Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer #Plant Surface Properties and Treatments
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1401.6943
openalex publication_date 2014/01/27 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Making use of experimental and theoretical considerations, in this Letter we deduce a criterion to determine the critical velocity for which a drop impacting a smooth dry surface either spreads over the substrate or disintegrates into smaller droplets. The derived equation, which expresses the splash threshold velocity as a function of the material properties of the two fluids involved, the drop radius and the mean free path of the molecules composing the surrounding gaseous atmosphere, has been thoroughly validated experimentally at normal atmospheric conditions using eight different liquids, with viscosities ranging from 3× 10-4 to 10-2 Pa⋅s and interfacial tension coefficients which vary between 17 and 72 mN⋅m-1.