Influence of Liquid Properties on Energy Conversion During Crown Evolution Following Drop Impact Upon Films

Abstract

Abstract The energy conversion is proposed to analyze the effects of liquid properties on the formation of an ejecta sheet, prompt splashing, and crown evolution. The incompressible laminar Navier–Stokes equations coupled with the volume-of-fluid (VOF) model are solved numerically in an axisymmetric frame to simulate the impact process. Based on the energy conversion curves and liquid–gas interface shapes, the Weber number is shown to be the main dimensionless quantity controlling the impact process, especially with regard to crown evolution. However, the Reynolds number does have some influence on the drop impact process, especially during the stage of ejecta sheet formation and prompt splashing. By studying energy conversion during the impact process, the crown evolution is shown to be accelerated significantly with decreasing Weber number, but is hardly affected by the Reynolds number. A linear relation is found between the time to the moment of crown stabilization (when the crown height reaches its maximum value) and the square root of the Weber number. The relationship between the Weber number and the energy distribution at the moment of crown stabilization is also studied.