Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 9, 2026

Visualization of High Speed Liquid Jet Impaction on a Moving Surface
Published on: April 17, 2015
Deformation and dewetting of thin liquid films induced by moving gas jets
Christian W J Berendsen1, Jos C H Zeegers, Anton A Darhuber
1Mesoscopic Transport Phenomena Group, Department of Applied Physics, Eindhoven University of Technology, Den Dolech 2, 5612AZ Eindhoven, The Netherlands.
Abstract:
We study the deformation of thin liquid films subjected to impinging air-jets that are moving with respect to the substrate. The height profile and shape of the deformed liquid film is evaluated experimentally and numerically for different jet Reynolds numbers and translation speeds, for different liquids and substrate materials. Experiments and numerical results are in good agreement. On partially wetting substrates film rupture occurs. We imaged the appearance of dry spots and emergence of droplet patterns by high-speed, dual-wavelength interference microscopy. We systematically evaluated the resulting average droplet size and droplet density as a function of the experimental conditions. We show that within experimental accuracy the distribution of dry spots is dependent only on the residual film thickness and is not directly influenced by the shear stress and pressure gradients of the air-jet, nor by the speed of the substrate.
Related Concept Videos
Surface Tension of Fluid
Surface tension varies with...
Free Jet
Phase Transitions: Vaporization and Condensation
Rise of Liquid in a Capillary Tube
The Joule and Joule–Thomson Experiments
States of Water
Water freezes when the intermolecular forces are greater than the kinetic energy. Unlike most other substances, water is less dense in its solid state than in its liquid state. This is because each water molecule can form...

