Crown-forming instability phenomena in the drop splash problem

The objective of this work is to study the fundamental instability behind the crown formation in the problem of drop splashing on a pre-existing liquid film. Based on experimental and theoretical insights, we demonstrate that the most plausible instability mechanism is of the Richtmyer–Meshkov type associated with a nearly impulsive acceleration of the interface. We also discover frustration phenomena in the wave number selection of the crown spike structure and study the corresponding bifurcation picture.

Drop splash on a liquid film: Three modes of a crown formation.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide