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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 5, 2025

Film Control to Study Contributions of Waves to Droplet Impact Dynamics on Thin Flowing Liquid Films

Film Control to Study Contributions of Waves to Droplet Impact Dynamics on Thin Flowing Liquid Films

Published on: August 18, 2018

Droplets sliding on soft solids shed elastocapillary rails.

Nan Xue^1,2,3, Lawrence A Wilen⁴, Robert W Style¹

¹Department of Materials, ETH Zürich, Zürich 8093, Switzerland. robert.style@mat.ethz.ch.

|December 6, 2024

Summary

Droplets sliding on soft surfaces create elastocapillary ridges that dissipate energy. At high speeds, droplets form a bullet shape, shedding rails and reducing energy loss compared to lower speeds.

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Area of Science:

Soft matter physics
Fluid dynamics
Surface science

Background:

Surface tension of droplets deforms soft substrates, creating elastocapillary ridges.
Droplet sliding dissipates energy via elastocapillary ridge movement, slowing the droplet.

Purpose of the Study:

To experimentally investigate the dynamics of droplet sliding on soft substrates.
To characterize the relationship between droplet velocity, contact line shape, and energy dissipation.

Main Methods:

Experimental observation of droplet sliding on soft substrates.
Analysis of contact line shape and associated energy dissipation at varying velocities.

Main Results:

At low velocities, droplets exhibit a circular contact line, with dissipation increasing logarithmically with speed.
At higher velocities, the contact line becomes bullet-shaped, leading to leveled drag force.
Droplets shed 'elastocapillary rails' at higher speeds, which dissipate energy differently than wetting ridges.

Conclusions:

Droplet sliding dynamics on soft substrates are velocity-dependent, transitioning from circular to bullet-shaped contact lines.
The formation of elastocapillary rails at higher velocities suggests a more efficient energy dissipation mechanism than previously observed surfing of wetting ridges.