Arunachalam S

Breakage of buoyant drops using obstructions

Drop impact onto flat and sharp substrates have been studied from the perspective of maximum extension and contact time in liquid-air systems. In our study, we aim to break buoyant oil drops in a water column as a means for size reduction without expending energy. Experiments were conducted by letting oil drops impact carefully placed wedge like obstructions. We observe outcomes like non-breaking, breaking (symmetrically and asymmetrically) along with drops breaking and moving onto the same side of obstruction. The experiments seem to suggest that the outcome of the drop impact depends on impact velocity, off-center impact position and shape of the obstruction itself for the small parameter space explored.