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Updated: Apr 3, 2026

Film Control to Study Contributions of Waves to Droplet Impact Dynamics on Thin Flowing Liquid Films
Published on: August 18, 2018
Inhibition of wave-driven two-dimensional turbulence by viscoelastic films of proteins
N Francois1, H Xia1, H Punzmann1
1Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2611, Australia.
Abstract:
To model waves, surface flows, and particle dispersion at the air-water interface one needs to know the essential mechanisms affecting the fluid motion at the surface. We show that a thin film (less than 10-nm thick) of adsorbed protein dramatically affects two-dimensional turbulence generated by Faraday waves at the fluid surface. Extremely low concentrations (≈1 ppm) of soluble proteins form a strong viscoelastic layer which suppresses turbulent diffusion at the surface, changes wave patterns, and shows strong resilience to the wave-induced droplet generation. Surface shear properties of the film play a key role in this phenomenon by inhibiting the creation of vorticity at the surface. The addition of surfactants, on the other hand, destroys the nanolayer and restores the fluid mobility.
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