A SINGLE SPHERICAL DROP IMPACT ON A FLAT, DRY SURFACE - A UNIFIED CORRELATION

We examine the impact of a single spherical drop on a flat, dry, cold, and smooth surface. A large number of published experimental observations were collected and analyzed with the aid of the COMSOL Multiphysics software to yield a unified correlation that relates both the maximal spreading drop diameter and the corresponding time that it occurs to the dominant non-dimensional groups; the Weber and Reynolds numbers and the liquid to solid contact angle. Here we propose a new unique single unified correlation applicable to a high degree of accuracy for a wide range of initial conditions (notably higher than any previously published correlation for a wide range of impact numbers: from 0.05 to at least 2.75) that includes both the viscous and inertial regimes.