ORCID

Joseph Paulsen: 0000-0001-6048-456X

Document Type

Article

Date

2012

Keywords

emulsions, fluid singularity, algorithm, dispersion, drop coalescence, dynamics, flow, simulation, viscosity

Language

English

Official Citation

The inexorable resistance of inertia determines the initial regime of drop coalescence. JD Paulsen, JC Burton, SR Nagel, S Appathurai, MT Harris, & OA Basaran, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A. 109, 6857 (2012).

Disciplines

Physics

Description/Abstract

Drop coalescence is central to diverse processes involving dispersions of drops in industrial, engineering, and scientific realms. During coalescence, two drops first touch and then merge as the liquid neck connecting them grows from initially microscopic scales to a size comparable to the drop diameters. The curvature of the interface is infinite at the point where the drops first make contact, and the flows that ensue as the two drops coalesce are intimately coupled to this singularity in the dynamics. Conventionally, this process has been thought to have just two dynamical regimes: a viscous and an inertial regime with a cross-over region between them. We use experiments and simulations to reveal that a third regime, one that describes the initial dynamics of coalescence for all drop viscosities, has been missed. An argument based on force balance allows the construction of a new coalescence phase diagram.

ISSN

00278424

Additional Information

Additional authors: Justin C. Burton, Sidney R. Nagel, Santosh Appathurai, Michael T. Harris, and Osman A. Basaran.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences allows its authors to archive pre-print, post-print, and publisher's versions after the embargo has expired.

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