• Journal of ILASS-Korea
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.131-138
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• 2009

In the present study, spread-recoil behavior of a drop of shear-thinning liquid (xanthan solution) on a dry wall (polished stainless-steel plate) was examined and compared with that of Newtonian liquid (glycerin solution). Nine different kinds of xanthan and glycerin solutions were tested, including three pairs of xanthan and glycerin solutions, each having the same viscosity in low shear rate region ($10^{-2}-10^0\;l/s$). The drop behavior was visualized and recorded using a CCD camera. The maximum diameter and the spreading velocity of the xanthan drops turned out to be significantly larger and the time to reach their final shape was much shorter compared to the cases with the glycerin solutions, due to the smaller viscous dissipation resulted from lower viscosity in the higher shear rate region (>$10^0\;l/s$). As a result, the maximum diameters were measured to be larger than the predicted values based on the model proposed for Newtonian liquids, and the deviation was more pronounced with the solution with the larger viscosity variation. Consequently, viscosity variation with the shear rate was found to be a dominant factor governing the spread-recoil behavior of shear-thinning drops.