Complex Drop Impact

Initiated by pioneers in the late nineteenth century—most notably the British physicist Mason Worthington—the impact of liquid drops on solid surfaces has become a highly active area of research in fluid mechanics and fluid engineering. Interest in this topic stems not only from the fundamental physical questions it raises, but also from its importance in a wide range of industrial applications.

While drop dynamics in conventional liquid–solid systems are now relatively well understood, drop impact involving complex liquids, complex surfaces, or external fields has gained significant attention only in recent years. This Special Issue focuses on complex drop impact systems in which new mechanisms and novel phenomena arise. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, non-Newtonian, compound, multicomponent, ferrofluid, and biofluid drop impacts; phase-change effects during impact; drop impact on textured, porous, liquid-infused, or viscoelastic surfaces; and drop impact under external electric, magnetic, or acoustic fields.