- Accepted Paper
Jet coronation: Coexistence of compressible and incompressible dynamics
Phys. Rev. Fluids - Accepted 4 November, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/knwt-n9qr
Phys. Rev. Fluids - Accepted 4 November, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/knwt-n9qr
The impact of a liquid-filled container on a rigid substrate gives rise to a rich spectrum of transient hydrodynamic phenomena, including jet focusing, crown formation, interfacial-instability-induced atomisation, and cavitation. Upon impact, the abrupt change in the container velocity impulsively accelerates the liquid column, producing a vertically directed focused jet at the free surface. Depending on the impact conditions, container geometry, and the physical properties of the air-liquid system, the jet may either remain smooth and axisymmetric or evolve into more complex dynamics characterised by surface-wave development, droplet ejection, and, perhaps most remarkably, the formation of vapour cavities. The coexistence of focused jetting, crown formation, and cavitation underscores the strongly nonlinear nature of the flow and suggests an intricate interplay among inertial focusing, interfacial instabilities, and pressure wave-driven cavity formation, together with the simultaneous presence of both compressible and incompressible dynamics within the system. The present experiments revisit the cavitation-type jet, with particular emphasis on the dynamics of the secondary sheet-like jet and the evolution of cavitation bubbles, highlighting the secondary annular sheet and crown dynamics, their rim instabilities, and their apparent coupling with cavitation-bubble dynamics.
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