Theory and Simulation of Spreading Viscoelastic Droplets in Microgravity

Kurzfassung

Viscoelastic materials share properties of an elastic solid at short response times, and that of a viscous fluid at long times. They can be characterized by long intrinsic relaxation times that separate the two behaviors. While the spreading behavior of droplets on earth is mostly dominated by gravitational forces, the spreading behavior of droplets in microgravity is the result of an intricate balance between hydrostatic pressure, surface tension, yield stress, and the effect of shear thinning. In the talk, I present both numerical simulations and analytical calculations regarding spreading viscoelastic droplets in microgravity.