Issue 25, 2024

Drop impact dynamics of complex fluids: a review

Abstract

The impact of fluid drops on solid substrates has widespread interest in many industrial coating and spraying applications, such as ink-jet printing and agricultural pesticide sprays. Many of the fluids used in these applications are non-Newtonian, that is they contain particulate or polymeric additives that strongly modify their flow behaviour. While a large body of experimental and theoretical work has been done to understand the impact dynamics of Newtonian fluids, we as a community have much progress to make to understand how these dynamics are modified when the impact fluid has non-Newtonian rheology. In this review, we outline recent experimental, theoretical, and computational advances in the study of impact dynamics of complex fluids on solid surfaces. Here, we provide an overview of this field that is geared towards a multidisciplinary audience. Our discussion is segmented by two principal material constitutions: polymeric fluids and particulate suspensions. Throughout, we highlight promising future directions, as well as ongoing experimental and theoretical challenges in the field.

Graphical abstract: Drop impact dynamics of complex fluids: a review

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
30 jan 2024
Accepted
05 jun 2024
First published
07 jun 2024
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY license

Soft Matter, 2024,20, 4839-4858

Drop impact dynamics of complex fluids: a review

P. Shah and M. M. Driscoll, Soft Matter, 2024, 20, 4839 DOI: 10.1039/D4SM00145A

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported Licence. You can use material from this article in other publications without requesting further permissions from the RSC, provided that the correct acknowledgement is given.

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