Experimental and numerical study of a hollow droplet impacting on inclined solid surfaces

Abstract

This study sheds light on the complex dynamics of hollow droplet impacts and highlights the unique behaviors that differentiate them from their dense counterparts. The impact dynamics of hollow droplets on surfaces at varying angles were investigated through a combination of experimental and numerical methods. Two-view imaging technique is used to capture the droplet flattening during the experimental study. A three-dimensional compressible solver is developed to model the droplet impact using the volume of fluid method to capture the liquid and gas interface. The study revealed two distinct behaviors when comparing the flattening of hollow droplets to that of dense droplets. First, a unique counter-jet formation was observed following the collision of a hollow droplet perpendicular to the surface, indicating an inherent characteristic of hollow droplet flattening. The length of this counter-jet was primarily influenced by the droplet velocity and liquid viscosity, with the perpendicular velocity component playing a key role in its size. Second, unlike dense droplets that recoil and form a dome shape upon impact on hydrophobic surfaces, hollow droplets form a donut shape due to disturbances caused by bubble rupture during spreading. These disturbances fragmented the liquid sheet, preventing the droplet from recoiling and resulting in a distinctive donut shape. On surfaces with different orientations, the hollow droplet exhibited two velocity components, where the normal component controls the counter-jet size while the tangential component induces tangential motion. The donut shape splat was also observed on surfaces with different orientations.