On the rupture of a liquid film formed by a shocked drop-in-liquid

Abstract

In this work, the detailed rupture processes of a liquid film formed by a shocked drop-in-liquid were systematically studied using a numerical method combined with an experimental method. The numerical and experimental results were consistent. It was found that the rupture of the liquid film started with a few tiny holes, and that the liquid film had a continuous collapse process after the appearance of the tiny holes. Several ligaments and tiny droplets formed as the liquid film collapsed, and eventually, the ligaments pinched-off into several tiny droplets because of Rayleigh-Plateau instability (RPI). The relationships between the cumulative number of ligaments and tiny droplets and the characteristic times were determined for three different Weber number (We) values. It was found that the hydrodynamic force of the surrounding liquid contributed significantly to the formation of the ligaments and tiny droplets. The tiny droplet characteristic size distribution during the collapse process of the ruptured two-dimensional liquid film was also investigated. Moreover, the relationship between vertical and radial collapse rates and the characteristic times was determined for three different We values. It was found that the hydrodynamic force of the surrounding liquid contributed to the collapse of the ruptured two-dimensional liquid film in the vertical direction.