The maximum diameter a droplet that impacts on a surface will attain is the subject of controversy, notably for high-velocity impacts of low-viscosity liquids such as water or blood. We study the impact of droplets of simple liquids of different viscosities, and a shear-thinning complex fluid (blood), for a wide range of surfaces, impact speeds, and impact angles. We show that the spreading behavior cannot simply be predicted by equating the inertial to either capillary or viscous forces, since, for most situations of practical interest, all three forces are important. We determine the correct scaling behaviors for the viscous and capillary regimes and, by interpolating between the two, allow for a universal rescaling. The results for different impact angles can be rescaled on this universal curve also, by doing a simple geometrical correction for the impact angle. For blood, we show that the shear-thinning properties do not affect the maximum diameter and only the high-shear rate viscosity is relevant. With our study, we solve a longstanding problem within the fluid-dynamics community: We attest that the spreading behavior of droplets is governed by the conversion of kinetic energy into surface energy or dissipated heat. Energy transfer into internal flows marginally hinders droplet spreading upon impact.

The maximum spreading of drops impacting on smooth and rough surfaces is measured from low to high impact velocity for liquids with different surface tensions and viscosities. We demonstrate that dynamic wetting plays an important role in the spreading at low velocity, characterized by the dynamic contact angle at maximum spreading. In the energy balance, we account for the dynamic wettability by introducing the capillary energy at zero impact velocity, which relates to the spreading ratio at zero impact velocity. Correcting the measured spreading ratio by the spreading ratio at zero velocity, we find a correct scaling behaviour for low and high impact velocity and, by interpolation between the two, we find a universal scaling curve. The influence of the liquid as well as the nature and roughness of the surface are taken into account properly by rescaling with the spreading ratio at zero velocity, which, as demonstrated, is equivalent to accounting for the dynamic contact angle.

We investigate the impact velocity beyond which the ejection of smaller droplets from the main droplet (splashing) occurs for droplets of different liquids impacting different smooth surfaces. We examine its dependence on the surface wetting properties and droplet surface tension. We show that the splashing velocity is independent of the wetting properties of the surface but increases roughly linearly with increasing surface tension of the liquid. A preexisting splashing model and simplification are considered that predict the splashing velocity by incorporating the air viscosity. Both the splashing model and simplification give a good prediction of the splashing velocity for each surface and liquid, demonstrating the robustness of the splashing model. We also show that the splashing model can also predict the splashing velocity of blood, a shear-thinning fluid.

Bloodstain Pattern Analysis is a forensic discipline in which, among others, the position of victims can be determined at crime scenes on which blood has been shed. To determine where the blood source was investigators use a straight-line approximation for the trajectory, ignoring effects of gravity and drag and thus overestimating the height of the source. We determined how accurately the location of the origin can be estimated when including gravity and drag into the trajectory reconstruction. We created eight bloodstain patterns at one meter distance from the wall. The origin’s location was determined for each pattern with: the straight-line approximation, our method including gravity, and our method including both gravity and drag. The latter two methods require the volume and impact velocity of each bloodstain, which we are able to determine with a 3D scanner and advanced fluid dynamics, respectively. We conclude that by including gravity and drag in the trajectory calculation, the origin’s location can be determined roughly four times more accurately than with the straight-line approximation. Our study enables investigators to determine if the victim was sitting or standing, or it might be possible to connect wounds on the body to specific patterns, which is important for crime scene reconstruction.