Large droplet release
Abstract Large droplets, whose diameters exceed the capillary length, are inherently prone to instabilities during free fall due to capillary and inertial forces. We introduce an experimental platform that enables the controlled release of such drops while minimizing oscillatory breakup. By systematically varying surface curvature, porosity, and release acceleration, we identify the conditions under which droplet deformation is suppressed and near‐spherical integrity is maintained. High‐speed imaging reveals that curved, hydrophobic mesh surfaces with high porosity promote rapid detachment and attenuate elongation. In contrast, droplets released from solid substrates exhibit enhanced elongation and frequent fragmentation. The droplet aspect ratio at maximum stretch serves as a quantitative measure of stability across configurations. These findings advance the understanding of large droplet dynamics and provide experimentally validated guidelines for generating stable large droplets for applications involving fluid transport, atomization, and multiphase flow control.
Authors
- Tadd Truscott (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1613-6052)
- Aqeel Almanashi
- Dilip Maity
- Sandip Dighe
- Jeffrey Fonnesbeck
- Som Dutta
- Fauzia W. K. F. Wardani
Institutions
- Utah State University (US)
- King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (SA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Droplet
- Published
- 2026-09-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/dro2.70083
- Primary Topic
- Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00