Drops on the Underside of a Slightly Inclined Wet Substrate Move Too Fast to Grow

Etienne Jambon-Puillet, Pier Giuseppe Ledda, François Gallaire, and P.-T. Brun
Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 044503 – Published 23 July 2021
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Abstract

Pendant drops suspended on the underside of a wet substrate are known to accumulate fluid from the surrounding thin liquid film, a process that often results in dripping. The growth of such drops is hastened by their ability to translate over an otherwise uniform horizontal film. Here we show that this scenario is surprisingly reversed when the substrate is slightly tilted (2°); drops become too fast to grow and shrink over the course of their motion. Combining experiments and numerical simulations, we rationalize the transition between the conventional growth regime and the previously unknown decay regime we report. Using an analytical treatment of the Landau-Levich meniscus that connects the drop to the film, we quantitatively predict the drop dynamics in the two flow regimes and the value of the critical inclination angle where the transition between them occurs.

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  • Received 10 December 2020
  • Revised 15 April 2021
  • Accepted 16 June 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.127.044503

© 2021 American Physical Society

Physics Subject Headings (PhySH)

Fluid Dynamics

Authors & Affiliations

Etienne Jambon-Puillet1, Pier Giuseppe Ledda2, François Gallaire2, and P.-T. Brun1

  • 1Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08540, USA
  • 2Laboratory of Fluid Mechanics and Instabilities, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne CH-1015, Switzerland

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Issue

Vol. 127, Iss. 4 — 23 July 2021

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