Work

Leaf oscillation and upward ejection of droplets in response to drop impact

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: During heavy rainstorms, how can pathogenic spores at the surface of plant leaves travel upward and contaminate other leaves above? The spores are released in the sessile drops left on the leaves by previous raindrops. In this manuscript, we show that upon impact of a large raindrop, a leaf may strongly vibrate. The subsequent inertial forces may be sufficient to expel water from its surface. We describe this droplet ejection mechanism as a function of both leaf and raindrop properties. The droplets inherit from the leaf velocity, so some of them can be shot upward. This ejection mechanism likely induces a significant upward flux of biological material during rainstorms.

Source: Physical Review Fluids

DOI: 10.1103/physrevfluids.10.053601

Authors: Tristan Gilet, Loïc Tadrist

Institutions: University of Liège, Aix-Marseille Université

Language: English

Topic: Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer

Subfield: Computational Mechanics

Field: Engineering

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: Fonds De La Recherche Scientifique - FNRS

Award: G1129953375