MARANGONI FLOWS AND COALESCENCE PHENOMENA IN MICROGRAVITY

Experiments on ground and in microgravity (Spacelab) have shown that, under well defined conditions, coalescence of two drops of the same liquid can be prevented, a stable interface being formed instead. To this intriguing phenomenon contributes a state of motion of the liquid surfaces. Both Marangoni flow induced by temperature gradients and mechanical means may generate motions that hinder coalescence. Interesting results on non-coalescence were obtained in the D-2 mission at a much larger scale than that used in ground experiments.