On the breakup of slender liquid bridges: Experiments and a 1-D numerical analysis

Slender axisymmetric dielectric liquid bridges are made stable by the actio n of an axial electric field. In this paper; the subsequent dynamics of a s lender liquid bridge after turning off the electric field is considered. Th e evolution in time of the bridge profile is investigated both theoreticall y and experimentally. A one-dimensional model is used to simulate the dynam ic response of the system. Experiments are performed applying an axial elec tric field to a liquid bridge of 1 mm of diameter, and turning-off the elec tric field. The evolution of the liquid bridge is recorded using a video ca mera, and the digitized images are analysed. Good agreement between computa tions and experiments is found. (C) Elsevier, Paris.