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Updated: Mar 15, 2026

A Method for Studying the Temperature Dependence of Dynamic Fracture and Fragmentation
Published on: June 28, 2015
Frozen Impacted Drop: From Fragmentation to Hierarchical Crack Patterns.
Elisabeth Ghabache1, Christophe Josserand1, Thomas Séon1
1Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Université Paris 06, UMR 7190, Institut Jean Le Rond d'Alembert, F-75005 Paris, France and CNRS, UMR 7190, Institut Jean Le Rond d'Alembert, F-75005 Paris, France.
Water drop impacts on cold surfaces create frozen pancakes. Below a critical temperature, these pancakes fracture, transitioning from 2D fragmentation to hierarchical patterns with increasing thermal shock.
Area of Science:
- Physics of soft matter
- Materials science
- Fluid dynamics
Background:
- Liquid pancake formation via drop impact on cold substrates is a complex phenomenon.
- Understanding fracture mechanics in frozen materials is crucial for various applications.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally investigate the fracture patterns of liquid pancakes formed by water drop impact on sub-zero substrates.
- To identify the transition in fracture regimes based on substrate temperature and thermal shock.
Main Methods:
- Controlled laboratory experiments involving water drop impact on solid substrates cooled between 0°C and -60°C.
- Observation and analysis of crack patterns in the resulting frozen pancakes.
- Application of classical fracture scaling arguments to estimate transition temperatures.
Main Results:
- Fractures initiate in frozen pancakes below a specific substrate temperature.
- A transition from 2D fragmentation to hierarchical fracture regimes was observed with increasing thermal shock.
- Transition temperatures for different fracture regimes were estimated.
Conclusions:
- Substrate temperature and thermal shock are key parameters controlling fracture patterns in frozen pancakes.
- A phase diagram illustrates the control of fracture regimes by drop impact parameters.
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