Acoustics of Periodic and Multiple Drop Impacts on a Water Surface

Abstract

High-speed video filming of surface currents and synchronized acoustic measurements of the underwater sound signals of falling drops were performed in a laboratory tank. During successive falling, the main structural elements of collision of a single drop with the surface are preserved in distorted form in the flow pattern: cavity, splashes, crown, and splash; shock pulses accompanying each contact are stably repeated in the phonogram. In addition, rare resonance packets are observed. For multiple falling drops, the flow pattern changes dramatically: the main structural elements of the drop impact flow disappear, and the surface is covered with floating bubbles. The phonogram assumes the form of a noise signal, in the spectrum of which separate linear sections stand out.