A System for Recording the Dynamics of the Water Drop’s Impact on a Surface

Abstract

The splash phenomenon is the first stage of water erosion on the soil. It occurs when the water drops of the rain strike the surface. The impact of the water drop is fast. But if one has a fast enough measuring system, it can be considered as a temporally extended phenomenon. The aim of this paper is to describe a system for the measurement of the dynamic of the changing forces when a water drop interacts with the surface during impact. The constructive assumptions and validation of the measurement system, which has been based on piezoelectric sensors, are also presented. The system allows one to measure the changes of the force with the frequency of 150 kHz. The maximum force is 200 N, which is quite sufficient for all sizes of water drops which occur in nature and their maximum speeds. The results of test measurements, that is, the changes of the force obtained from water drops falling on the sensors, are also shown.