Coalescence of non-spherical drops with a liquid surface

Abstract

We employ three-dimensional numerical simulations to explore the impact dynamics of non-spherical drops in a deep liquid pool by varying the aspect ratios (Ar) and Weber numbers (We). We observe that when a non-spherical drop is gently placed on a liquid pool, it exhibits a partial coalescence phenomenon and the emergence of a daughter droplet for Ar>0.67. In contrast to the prolate (Ar<1) and spherical drops (Ar=1), an oblate (Ar>1) drop with a high aspect ratio encapsulates air in a ring-like bubble within the pool and emerges a liquid column that undergoes Rayleigh–Plateau capillary instability, leading to the formation of two daughter droplets with complex shapes. When the parent drop is impacted with finite velocity, our observations indicate that increasing the Weber number leads to elevated crater heights on the free surface for all aspect ratios. A prolate drop produces a less pronounced wave swell and exhibits a prolonged impact duration owing to its negligible impact area. Conversely, an oblate drop generates a much wider wave swell than spherical and prolate drops. We analyze the relationship between rim formation dynamics and the kinetic and surface energies of the system. Finally, we establish an analogy by comparing the dynamics of a freely falling non-spherical drop, undergoing topological oscillations during its descent from a height, with the impact dynamics of parent drops of various shapes striking the liquid surface with an equivalent velocity. Our investigation involving non-spherical drops contrasts the extensive studies conducted by various researchers on the impact of a parent spherical drop just above the free surface of a liquid pool.