When a drop is deposited gently onto the surface of a layer of the same liquid, it sits momentarily before coalescing into the bottom layer. High-speed video imaging reveals that the coalescence process is not instantaneous, but rather takes place in a cascade where each step generates a smaller drop. This cascade is self-similar and we have observed up to six steps. The time associated with each partial coalescence scales with the surface tension time scale. The cascade will, however, not proceed ad infinitum due to viscous effects, as the Reynolds number of the process is proportional to the square root of the drop diameter. Viscous effects will therefore begin to be important for the very smallest drops. This cascade is very similar to the one observed previously by Charles and Mason [J. Colloid Sci. 15, 105 (1960)] for two immiscible liquids, where one of the liquids replaces the air in our setup.
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June 2000
Letter|
June 01 2000
The coalescence cascade of a drop
S. T. Thoroddsen;
S. T. Thoroddsen
Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, University of Illinois at Urbana—Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801
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K. Takehara
K. Takehara
Department of Civil Engineering, Kinki University, Kowakae, Higashi-Osaka 577, Japan
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Physics of Fluids 12, 1265–1267 (2000)
Article history
Received:
November 18 1999
Accepted:
March 07 2000
Citation
S. T. Thoroddsen, K. Takehara; The coalescence cascade of a drop. Physics of Fluids 1 June 2000; 12 (6): 1265–1267. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.870380
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