The Role of Liquid Properties on Lifetime of Levitated Droplets.

It is known that the temperature difference between a droplet and a liquid surface can extend the levitation time of that droplet by providing a thin air film between the surface and the droplet. However, the effect of fluid properties, liquid surface velocity, and air film thickness on the lifetime of droplets is still not well understood. Also, there is inconsistency in the literature about the role of vapor pressure in noncoalescence. Here we test a variety of liquids including silicone oil, Fluorinert, and water to understand the effect of surface tension, density ratio, viscosity, and heat capacity on the lifetime of a droplet. Droplets with larger heat capacity and vapor pressure like water remain floating for a longer time compared to oils. Similarly, higher surface velocity, which is seen in low viscous liquids, helps the air to replenish into the interstices beneath droplet and delay the drainage process. We also discuss the air film variation with temperature manipulation, and propose a correlation for the minimum thickness required to balance the droplet weight.

Droplet impact on deep liquid pools: Rayleigh jet to formation of secondary droplets.

The impact of droplets on a deep pool has applications in cleaning up oil spills, spray cooling, painting, inkjet printing, and forensic analysis, relying on the changes in properties such as viscosity, interfacial tension, and density. Despite the exhaustive research on different aspects of droplet impact, it is not clear how liquid properties can affect the instabilities leading to Rayleigh jet breakup and number of daughter drops formed after its pinch-off. In this article, through systematic experiments we investigate the droplet impact phenomena by varying viscosity and surface tension of liquids as well as impact speeds. Further, using numerical simulations, we show that Rayleigh-Plateau instability is influenced by these parameters, and capillary time scale is the appropriate scale to normalize the breakup time. Based on Ohnesorge number (Oh) and impact Weber number (We), a regime map for no breakup, Rayleigh jet breakup, and crown splash is suggested. Interestingly, crown splash is observed to occur at all Ohnesorge numbers; however, at high Oh, a large portion of kinetic energy is dissipated, and thus the Rayleigh jet is suppressed regardless of high impact velocity. The normalized required time for the Rayleigh jet to reach its peak varies linearly with the critical height of the jet.

Thermally induced collision of droplets in an immiscible outer fluid.

Micro-total analysis systems (µTAS) have attracted wide attention and are identified as a promising solution for sample transport, filtration, chemical reactions, separation and detection. Despite their popularity, the selection of an appropriate mechanism for droplet transport and coalescence has always been a challenge. This paper investigates the use of Marangoni flow as a mechanism for levitating and transporting droplets on immiscible liquid films at higher speeds than is possible currently. For the first time, we show that it is possible to realize the natural coalescence of droplets through Marangoni effect without any external stimulation, and deliver the coalesced droplet to a certain destination through the use of surface tension gradients. The effects of shape and size on collision outcome are studied. Regions of coalescence and stretching separation of colliding droplets are delineated based on Weber number and impact number. In addition, the effect of viscosity on post collision regimes is studied. The findings in this fundamental study can be beneficial to many applications such as welding, drug delivery and microfluidics devices in controlling small droplets and targeting them to various locations.