Bouncing of polymeric droplets on liquid interfaces

Abstract

The effect of polymers on the bouncing behavior of droplets in a highly viscous, vertically shaken silicone oil bath was investigated in this study. Droplets of a sample liquid were carefully placed on a vibrating bath that was maintained well below the threshold of Faraday waves. The bouncing threshold of the plate acceleration depended on the acceleration frequency. For pure water droplets and droplets of aqueous polymer solutions, a minimum acceleration amplitude was observed in the acceleration threshold curves as a function of frequency. The bouncing acceleration amplitude for a droplet of a dilute aqueous polymer solution was higher than the acceleration amplitude for a pure water droplet. Measurements of the center of mass trajectory and the droplet deformations showed that the controlling parameter in the bouncing process was the oscillating elongational rate of the droplet. This parameter can be directly related to the elongational viscosity of the polymeric samples. The large elongational viscosity of the polymer solution droplets suppressed large droplet deformations, resulting in less chaotic bouncing. © 2012 American Physical Society.