Spreading and fragmentation of particle-laden liquid sheets

Abstract

The fragmentation of liquid sheets produces a collection of droplets. The\nsize distribution of the droplets has a considerable impact on the coating\nefficiency of sprays and the transport of contaminants. Although many processes\ncommonly used particulate suspensions, the influence of the particles on the\nspreading dynamics of the sheet and its subsequent fragmentation has so far\nbeen considered negligible. In this paper, we consider experimentally a\ntransient suspension sheet that expands radially. We characterize the influence\nof the particles on the dynamics of the liquid sheet and the fragmentation\nprocess. We highlight that the presence of particles modifies the thickness and\nreduces the stability of the liquid sheet. Our study suggests that particles\ncan significantly modify the dynamics of liquid films through capillary\neffects, even for volume fractions much smaller than the maximum packing.\n