Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 20, 2026

High Throughput Analysis of Liquid Droplet Impacts
Published on: March 6, 2020
Cratering response during droplet impacts on granular beds
Emmanuel Wyser1, Dario Carrea2, Michel Jaboyedoff2
1University of Lausanne, Institute of Earth Sciences, Lausanne, Switzerland. emmanuel.wyser@unil.ch.
Abstract:
This experimental work focuses on the cratering response of granular layers induced by liquid droplet impacts. A droplet impact results in severe granular layer deformation, crater formation and deposits in the vicinity of the impact center. High-precision three-dimensional imaging of the granular layer surface revealed important characteristics of liquid impacts on granular matter, such as singular asymmetric deformations of the layer. Our analysis also demonstrated that the impact energy and the granular packing, and its inherent compressibility, are not the unique parameters controlling the bed response, for which granular fraction heterogeneities may induce strong variations. Such heterogeneous conditions primarily influence the magnitude but not the dynamics of liquid impacts on granular layers. Finally, a general equation can be used to relate the enery released during cratering to both the impact energy and the compressibility of the granular matter. However, our results do not support any transition triggered by the compaction-dilation regime. Hence, higly detailed numerical simulations could provide considerable insights regarding the remaining questions related to heterogeneous packing conditions and its influence over the bulk compressibility and the compaction-dilation phase transition.
Related Concept Videos
Capillary Beds
Capillaries connect arterioles, small branches of arteries, to venules,...
Impact of Groups on Groups
Impact
When particles with different initial velocities collide, they induce deformation by applying equal and opposite impulses. At the point of maximum deformation, the particles move together with...
Impact Loading
In cases of elastic deformation,...
Types of Impact
The coefficient of restitution is a metric for understanding the dynamics of impacts. It quantifies the ratio of relative velocity...
Impact: Problem Solving
By designating the launch point as the origin and utilizing kinematic equations, the vertical component of the projectile's velocity at the point of impact is...

