The Splash of a Liquid Drop

The full Navier-Stokes equations are solved numerically in cylindrical coordinates in order to investigate the splash of a liquid drop onto a flat plate, into a shallow pool, or into a deep pool. Solution is accomplished with the Marker-and-Cell technique using a high-speed computer. Results include data on pressures, velocities, oscillations, droplet rupture, and the effects of compressibility. They also show how the technique can be applied to a wide variety of other complicated fluid flow problems involving the transient behavior of a free surface.