Cornered drops and rivulets

Jacco H Snoeijer (1, 2, 3) , Nolwenn Le Grand-Piteira (2, 3) , Laurent Limat (2, 3) , Howard A. Stone (4) , Jens Eggers (1)

1 University of Bristol [Bristol]
2 MSC - Matière et Systèmes Complexes
3 PMMH - Physique et mécanique des milieux hétérogenes (UMR 7636)
4 Harvard University

We present theoretical and experimental results for a drop of viscous liquid running down an inclined plane at speed U⁠. For U>Ucr the rear of the drop forms a corner whose opening half-angle ϕ decreases with U⁠. By matching the interior of the drop to the contact line, we calculate ϕ analytically. We find that above a second critical speed Uriv this solution no longer exists and instead a slender rivulet comes out of the tip of the corner. To compute the width of the rivulet, we match it to the front of the drop, where it is rounded. Our theoretical results on the opening angle, the rivulet width and the drop velocity are in good agreement with experiment.

Domaines: Biomécanique [physics.med-ph]; Biomécanique [physics.med-ph]

Jacco H Snoeijer, Nolwenn Le Grand-Piteira, Laurent Limat, Howard A. Stone, Jens Eggers. Cornered drops and rivulets. Physics of Fluids, 2007, 19 (4), pp.042104. ⟨10.1063/1.2722767⟩. ⟨hal-00357812⟩