Entrainment of air in an oblique high-velocity impact of a small solid sphere onto the liquid surface

Results of studying an oblique impact of heavy solid spheres 6 mm in diameter onto an undisturbed surface of water by the method of high-speed visualization are reported. The dynamics of interaction of the body with the liquid in the cases of sphere ricochet and immersion is compared. It is found that air bubbles are intensely captured in the wake behind the body in situations with body immersion owing to a collision of the edges of the “crown” generated at the cavity boundaries and to formation of a jet penetrating through the cavity bottom and entraining air bubbles. The effects of the sphere material density and of the impact velocity and angle on the scenario of sphere-liquid interaction are studied. Comparisons with previous experiments show that a decrease in the sphere size leads to reduction of the critical angle, while the opposite effect (increase in the critical angle) is observed if the impact velocity is increased. Such effects cannot be explained by theoretical approaches developed earlier for impacts of large spheres because these approaches ignore the dynamics of the liquid jet generated ahead of the body and the changes in the flow pattern as a whole.