Vortex ring generation due to the coalescence of a water drop at a free surface

Results are presented of an experimental investigation of vortex ring formation by a fluid drop contacting a free surface with negligible velocity. The pool fluid is mixed with fluorescein dye, and a laser sheet is used to illuminate a plane of the flow. A series of representative images is recorded by a CCD camera and speculation is made regarding specific sources of vorticity flux through the free surface. Two scaling analyses previously presented by other investigators are demonstrated to be equivalent under the assumptions of this experiment, and they provide the motivation for a series of test runs in which the duration of the coalescence process, τ*, is related to variations in drop diameter L and fluid surface tension σ. Experimental results are in agreement with the analyses, showing τ*∼σ^(-1/2) and τ*∼L ^(3/2).