Impact patterns and temporal evolutions of water drops impinging on a rotating disc

Abstract

The impact process of a water drop colliding with a rotating disc was recorded and analysed using a high-speed video camera. Four falling velocities of the drop, eight rotational speeds, and four impacting radii of the disc were chosen to study their influences on the outcomes of drop impact. The correlation of the deposition–splash boundary was found to be the function of Reynolds number, Weber number, and Rossby number. Four kinds of impact processes were classified in terms of Rossby number and several new stages of the impact outcomes not present in drop impact on a stationary plate were recognized. For deposition processes, the temporal evolutions of two spread factors, the tangential and radial spread factors, were analysed in detail. It was found that the Rossby number and the falling velocity of the drop are the major factors affecting the tangential spread factor. In contrast, the Rossby number has little effect on the radial spread factor while the falling velocity of the drop still exerts a considerable influence on it.