Spread and rebound of liquid droplets upon impact on flat surfaces

Abstract The spread and rebound of droplets upon impact on flat surfaces at room temperature were studied over a wide range of impact velocities (0.5–6 m/s), viscosities (1–100 mPa.s), static contact angles (30–120°), droplet sizes (1.5–3.5 mm), and surface roughnesses using a fast‐shutter‐speed CCD camera. The maximum spread of a droplet upon impact depended strongly on the liquid viscosity and the impact velocity. The tendency of a droplet to deposit or to rebound is determined primarily by the liquid viscosity and the liquid/substrate static contact angle. A model more broadly applicable than existing models was developed to predict maximum spread as a function of the Reynolds number, the Weber number, and the static contact angle. Based on the conservation of energy, a rebound model is proposed that predicts the tendency to rebound as a function of maximum spread and static contact angle. The maximum‐spread model prediction agrees to within 10% with more than 90% of the experimental data from different sources. In the current study, the rebound model successfully predicts the tendency of a droplet to rebound.