Experimental investigation of the viscosity-dependence of the dripping faucet system

Abstract

In this paper, experimental results are presented for the dripping behavior of the dripping faucet system for fluids of varying viscosities. The drip intervals are measured, and analyzed via the construction of return maps. Periodic and chaotic behavior are observed for water, but for the more viscous fluids periodic behavior is not apparent, which implies more strongly chaotic dynamics in the latter cases. It was also observed that the transition from dripping to jetting shifts from lower period (time between two consecutive drops) to higher period as the viscosity increases. Recorded pseudo-periodic pattern in the light intensity plot (which has been associated with drop size) shows promising behavior which may be the subject of future experiments.