Pinching Dynamics and Multiple Droplet Generation in Partial Coalescence

Abstract

When a drop merges with its homophase, a liquid cylinder appears in certain conditions, which is pinched off leading to partial coalescence. We investigate the process experimentally and numerically, and find that the Rayleigth-Plateau instability is able to pinch off the cylinder when its height-to-neck ratio exceeds one. Surfactants are found to attenuate the cylinder and produce multiple droplets at moderate concentrations. For both the pinch-off of the mother drop and the subsequent breakup of the liquid threads in partial coalescence, the neck thinning is initially in the inertial (I) regime and then shifts to the inertial-viscous (IV) regime. An intermediate regime is seen at larger surfactant concentrations, which accelerates the thinning and favours the generation of multiple droplets.