Stability Limit of Electrified Droplets
Author(s)
Beroz, J.; Hart, A. J.; Bush, John W. M.
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In many physical processes, including cloud electrification, electrospray, and demulsification, droplets and bubbles are exposed to electric fields and may either remain whole or burst in response to electrical stresses. Determining the stability limit of a droplet exposed to an external electric field has been a long-standing mathematical challenge, and the only analytical treatment to date is an approximate calculation for the particular case of a free-floating droplet. Here we demonstrate, experimentally and theoretically, that the stability limit of a conducting droplet or bubble exposed to an external electric field is described by a power law with broad generality that, in practice, applies to the cases in which the droplet or bubble is pinned or sliding on a conducting surface or free floating. This power law can facilitate the design of devices for liquid manipulation via a simple formula that captures the parameter range of bubbles and droplets that can be supported on electrified surfaces. Keywords: drop & bubble phenomena; drop breakup; wetting; drops & bubbles
Date issued
2019-06Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Physics; Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering; Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of MathematicsJournal
Physical Review Letters
Publisher
American Physical Society (APS)
Citation
Beroz, J. et al. "Stability limit of electrified droplets." Physical Review Letters 122, 24 (June 2019): 244501 © 2019 American Physical Society
Version: Final published version
ISSN
0031-9007
1079-7114