Plateau-Rayleigh Instability and Capillary Droplet Propulsion on a Fiber

ORAL

Abstract

The Plateau-Rayleigh instability (PRI) of a liquid column underlies a variety of hydrodynamic phenomena. Compared to the classical case of a free liquid column, the description of a liquid layer on a fiber requires the consideration of the solid-liquid interface in addition to the free surface. We revisit the PRI of a liquid layer on a solid fiber by varying the hydrodynamic boundary condition at the fiber-liquid interface from no-slip to slip. We find that the growth rate depends on the system geometry and the boundary condition, which is in agreement with theory. In the late stages of liquid column breakup on slip-fibers, a three-phase contact line can be formed on one side of the droplet. The resulting capillary imbalance leads to droplet propulsion, which is studied as a function of temperature and molecular weight.

*Graduate school GRK 1276, NSERC of Canada, German Research Foundation (DFG) under grant numbers BA3406/2 and SFB 1027.

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Authors

  • Sabrina Haefner

    • Saarland University, Experimental Physics, D-66041 Saarbruecken, Germany

  • Michael Benzaquen

    • PCT Lab, UMR CNRS 7083 Gulliver, ESPCI ParisTech, PSL Research University, Paris, France

  • Oliver Baeumchen

    • Max-Planck Institute for Dynamics \& Self-Organization (MPIDS), 37077 Goettingen, Germany
    • Max Planck Institute for Dynamics \& Self-Organization (MPIDS), 37077 Goettingen, Germany

  • Thomas Salez

    • PCT Lab, UMR CNRS 7083 Gulliver, ESPCI ParisTech, PSL Research University, Paris, France

  • Robert Peters

    • McMaster University, Dept. of Physics \& Astronomy, Hamilton, ON, Canada

  • Joshua D. McGraw

    • Saarland University, Experimental Physics, D-66041 Saarbruecken, Germany
    • Saarland University
    • Saarland University, Experimental Physics, 66041 Saarbr\"ucken
    • Saarland University, Experimental Physics, D-66123, Saarbruecken, Germany

  • Karin Jacobs

    • Saarland University, Experimental Physics, D-66041 Saarbruecken, Germany
    • Saarland University, Experimental Physics, D-66123 Saarbr\"ucken
    • Experimental Physics, Saarland University, Saarbr\"ucken, Germany
    • Saarland University
    • Saarland University, Experimental Physics, 66041 Saarbr\"ucken
    • Experimental Physics, Saarland University, Saarbruecken, Germany
    • Saarland University, Experimental Physics and INM, D-66123, Saarbruecken, Germany

  • Elie Rapha\"el

    • PCT Lab, UMR CNRS 7083 Gulliver, ESPCI ParisTech, PSL Research University, Paris, France
    • UMR CNRS 7083 Gulliver, ESPCI ParisTech, PSL Research University
    • UMR CNRS 7083 Gulliver, ESPCI ParisTech

  • Kari Dalnoki-Veress

    • McMaster University, Dept. of Physics \& Astronomy, Hamilton, ON, Canada
    • Department of Physics \& Astronomy, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
    • McMaster University