Uncovering the secrets of splashing

LP12846 - Drop impact splashing has fascinated and challenged scientists for over a century. In a surprise development, super-high-resolution numerical simulations and ultra-high-speed video imaging suggest a new mechanism responsible for splashing. In a similar way as telephone lines hum in the wind, the liquid jet below a drop starts to oscillate at higher velocities, thus breaking into micro-droplets and shedding vortices into the drop. Systematic experiments showed the diversity and complexity of drop impacts, while numerical results were used to investigate the flow inside the drop. Direct comparison between experimental results and numerical simulations showed the high accuracy achieved to reproduce some of the finest details. Familiar to photographers for their aesthetic appeal, drop splashing has applications as diverse as combustion, inkjet printing, coating, crop spraying and aerosol production. Understanding these dynamics could be important to improve or control splashes