S. T. Thoroddsen | Searcharxiv

arXiv2025

Spinning Twisted Ribbons: When Two Holes Meet on a Curved Liquid Film

The rupture of a liquid film, where a thin liquid layer between two other fluids breaks and forms holes, commonly occurs in both natural phenomena and industrial applications. The post-rupture dynamics, from initial hole formation to the complete collapse of the film, are crucial because they govern droplet formation, which plays a significant role in many applications such as disease transmission, aerosol formation, spray drying nanodrugs, oil spill remediation, inkjet printing, and spray coating. While single-hole rupture has been extensively studied, the dynamics of multiple-hole ruptures, especially the interactions between neighboring holes, are less well understood. Here, this study reveals that when two holes 'meet' on a curved film, the film evolves into a spinning twisted ribbon before breaking into droplets, distinctly different from what occurs on flat films. We explain the formation and evolution of the spinning twisted ribbon, including its geometry, corrugations, ligaments, and orbits, and compare the experimental observations with models. We compare and contrast this phenomena with its counterpart on planar films. While our experiments are based on the multiple-hole ruptures in corona splash, the underlying principles are likely applicable to other systems. This study sheds light on understanding and controlling droplet formation in multiple-hole rupture, improving public health, climate science, and various industrial applications.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2012

Drop impact entrapment of bubble rings

We use ultra-high-speed video imaging to look at the initial contact of a drop impacting onto a liquid layer. We observe experimentally the vortex street and the bubble-ring entrapments predicted numerically, for high impact velocities, by Thoraval et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 264506 (2012)]. These dynamics occur mostly within 50 μs after the first contact, requiring imaging at 1 million frames/sec. For a water drop impacting onto a thin layer of water, the entrapment of isolated bubbles starts through azimuthal instability, which forms at low impact velocities, in the neck connecting the drop and pool. For Re above about 12 000, up to 10 partial bubble-rings have been observed at the base of the ejecta, starting when the contact is about 20% of the drop size. More regular bubble rings are observed for a pool of ethanol or methanol. The video imaging shows rotation around some of these air cylinders, which can temporarily delay their breakup into microbubbles. The different refractive index in the pool liquid reveals the destabilization of the vortices and the formation of streamwise vortices and intricate vortex tangles. Fine-scale axisymmetry is thereby destroyed. We show also that the shape of the drop has a strong influence on these dynamics.

physics.flu-dyn↗