Effect of electric fields on the rest time of coalescing drops

The rest time of drops coalescing at a fluid interface under ac/dc electric fields is investigated with high-speed photography. We show that the rest time consists of two stages dominated by deformation and drainage. Previous models predict a single stage process, dependent only on the electric fiel...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied physics letters 2008-11, Vol.93 (19), p.194101-194101-3
Main Authors: Lukyanets, A. S., Kavehpour, H. P.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:The rest time of drops coalescing at a fluid interface under ac/dc electric fields is investigated with high-speed photography. We show that the rest time consists of two stages dominated by deformation and drainage. Previous models predict a single stage process, dependent only on the electric field magnitude; our experiments show that frequency is also important. Initially, the drop begins to deform once the electric field in the gap between the drop and fluid bulk reaches a critical value; afterward, the rest time depends only on the interfacial fluid film drainage and is inversely proportional to electric field strength.
ISSN:0003-6951
1077-3118
DOI:10.1063/1.3020693