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Splashing on Soft Elastic Substrates.

Bailey C Basso¹, Joshua B Bostwick¹

¹Department of Mechanical Engineering, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina 29634, United States.

Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids

|December 1, 2020

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Droplet splashing on soft substrates becomes more difficult as elasticity decreases. Softer gels reduce splash spread, influencing applications like bioprinting and drug delivery.

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Area of Science:

Fluid Dynamics
Materials Science
Surface Science

Background:

Drop impact on soft substrates is crucial for bioprinting, spray coating, and aerosol drug delivery.
Understanding splash morphology is key to optimizing these applications.
Elasticity and wetting properties significantly influence drop behavior on surfaces.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the effect of substrate elasticity on splash morphology.
To quantify changes in splashing threshold, spine formation, spreading, and retraction.
To elucidate the role of substrate deformation in drop impact dynamics.

Main Methods:

Experimental analysis of drop impact on PDMS silicone gel and gelatin hydrogel substrates.
Varying substrate elasticity and wetting properties.
Characterization of splash morphology parameters (splashing threshold, spine number, spreading factor, retraction factor).

Main Results:

The splashing threshold (Weber number) increases with decreasing substrate elasticity.
Maximum drop spread diameter decreases on softer substrates, independent of wetting.
Spine formation depends on both elasticity and wetting properties.
Drop retraction shows no strong correlation with material properties.

Conclusions:

Softer substrates resist splashing, requiring higher impact energy.
Substrate deformation plays a critical role in the energy balance of splashing drops.
Elasticity and wetting properties are key factors governing splash morphology and spine formation.