• Journal of the Korean Society of Visualization
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.10-18
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• 2022

We present an experimental investigation on emulsions created during the impact process between a surfactant-laden droplet and an oil layer on water. By varying the surfactant concentration and the viscosity of oil layer, we created emulsions and visualized them using multi-dimensional high-speed imaging. Our analysis shows that the emulsions are more likely to be unstable and decay within a minute if the impacting droplet contains more surfactant. We also found that there are three mechanisms of generation of emulsions depending on the concentration of surfactant and the viscosity of oil layer; the jet pinch-off, cavity pinch-off, and tearing of oil layer. Jet and cavity pinch-off turned out to be dominant mechanisms for high oil viscosities, while tearing of oil layer is dominant for low oil viscosities. Our result is potentially useful in designing optimal dispersant properties for offshore oil contamination.