Intermittent dynamic bursting in vertically vibrated liquid drops

TL;DR

This paper reports a new type III intermittency regime in a vertically vibrated liquid drop, where bursts of activity occur due to the interplay of Faraday waves and shape deformation, revealing complex nonlinear dynamics.

Contribution

It introduces the observation of a novel intermittency regime in vibrated liquid drops, highlighting the physical mechanism involving surface waves and shape deformation.

Findings

Identification of a narrow amplitude window with intermittent bursting behavior.

Linking the bursting events to the competition between Faraday waves and drop deformation.

Observation of irregular large amplitude bursts alternating with low activity intervals.

Abstract

A previously unreported regime of type III intermittency is observed in a vertically vibrated milliliter-sized liquid drop submerged in a more viscous and less dense immiscible fluid layer supported by a hydrophobic solid plate. As the vibration amplitude is gradually increased, subharmonic Faraday waves are excited at the upper surface of the drop. We find a narrow window of vibration amplitudes slightly above the Faraday threshold, where the drop exhibits an irregular sequence of large amplitude bursting events alternating with intervals of low amplitude activity. The triggering physical mechanism is linked to the competition between surface Faraday waves and the shape deformation mode of the drop.