Transient and steady shapes of droplets attached to a surface in a strong electric field

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Abstract
The shape evolution of small droplets attached to a conducting surface and subjected to relatively strong electric fields is studied both experimentally and numerically. The problem is motivated by the phenomena characteristic of the electrospinning of nanofibres. Three different scenarios of droplet shape evolution are distinguished, based on numerical solution of the Stokes equations for perfectly conducting droplets. (i) In sufficiently weak (subcritical) electric fields the droplets are stretched by the electric Maxwell stresses and acquire steady-state shapes where equilibrium is achieved by means of the surface tension. (ii) In stronger (supercritical) electric fields the Maxwell stresses overcome the surface tension, and jetting is initiated from the droplet tip if the static (initial) contact angle of the droplet with the conducting electrode is were predicted.

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