Drop impact on thin film: Mixing, thickness variations, and ejections

Abstract

The impact of drops on a thin liquid film is a phenomenon encountered in industrial applications, but also of particular interest in nature. Examples include the growth of stalagmites in karstic caves, a case where the drop feeds the film with ions that will subsequently precipitate. The mixing upon impact, which is witnessed both in the film and in the ejections, remains poorly understood. In the case of stalagmites, this short-term mixing directly affects the ion distribution in the film between impacts. In this work we investigate the mixing and ejection processes occurring during the impact of a free-falling drop on a thin, horizontal film of miscible liquid. We perform laboratory experiments and record side and top views of high-speed movies of impacts in a range of parameters close to impacts observed on stalagmites in caves. We observe that several outcomes arise from these impacts depending on the initial film thickness and Weber number. We relate the geometry of the splashing crown growth to the four scenarios observed. Additionally, the postimpact mixing patterns and film thickness variations are analyzed through an original colorimetry-based technique. From there we infer the size of the stain and quantity of water left by the drop in the film, as well as the total volume ejected away during the impact.