How can we make agricultural spraying more effective while reducing its environmental impact? Tiny droplets can drift away in the wind, while others bounce straight off plant leaves. Understanding how complex fluids behave offers new ways to tackle both challenges.
In the Soft Matter group, we combine high-speed imaging, fluid mechanics, and rheology to explore how polymers, surfactants, and emulsions influence droplet formation, impact, and flow. Our research connects fundamental fluid physics with smarter spray formulations.
We investigate how polymer additives alter liquid-sheet breakup and droplet size, helping reduce spray drift while maintaining effective coverage.
By studying droplet impacts on water-repellent surfaces, we reveal how dynamic surface tension controls spreading, retraction, and bounce-off.
From stretching polymer filaments to stabilising emulsions, we uncover how elasticity, flow history, and interfacial interactions shape fluid behaviour.
Research Highlights
Selected publications from our work on sprays, droplet impact, and polymer dynamics.
A. Gaillard, R. Sijs & D. Bonn · Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics
Revealing how polymer elasticity changes spray breakup and produces larger droplets with the potential to reduce drift.
A. Gaillard et al. · Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Identifying the critical moment when polymer elasticity begins to dominate the thinning and breakup of liquid filaments.
H. Hoffman, R. Sijs, T. de Goede & D. Bonn · Physical Review Fluids
Demonstrating why the rapidly changing surface tension of droplets is crucial for efficient wetting and deposition.
Research contact: Daniel Bonn · d.bonn@uva.nl ↗