Mechanisms of free-surface breakup in vibration-induced liquid atomization

The mechanisms of droplet formation that take place during vibration-induced drop atomization are investigated experimentally. Droplet ejection results from the breakup of transient liquid spikes that form following the localized collapse of free-surface waves. Breakup typically begins with capillary pinch-off of a droplet from the tip of the spike and can be followed by additional pinch-offs of satellite droplets if the corresponding capillary number is sufficiently small (e.g., in low-viscosity liquids). If the capillary number is increased (e.g., in viscous liquids), breakup first occurs near the base of the spike, with or without subsequent breakup of the detached, thread-like spike. The formation of these detached threads is governed by a breakup mechanism that is separated from the tip-dominated capillary pinch-off mechanism by an order of magnitude in terms of dimensionless driving frequency f*. The dependence of breakup time and unbroken spike length on fluid and driving parameters is established over a broad range of dimensionless driving frequencies (10−3