Scaling laws for drop impingement on porous films and papers

Abstract

This study investigates drop impingement on highly wetting porous films and papers. Experiments reveal previously unexplored impingement modes on porous surfaces designated as necking, spreading, and jetting. Dimensional analysis yields a nondimensional parameter, denoted the Washburn-Reynolds number, relating droplet kinetic energy and surface energy. The impingement modes correlate with Washburn-Reynolds number variations spanning four orders of magnitude and a corresponding energy conservation analysis for droplet spreading shows good agreement with the experimental results. The simple scaling laws presented will inform the investigation of dynamic interactions between porous surfaces and liquid drops.