Tracking Break-Up

In fluid dynamics, researchers are often challenged with complicated, messy flows. With so much going on at once, it’s hard to work out a way to keep track of it all. Here, researchers are looking at the break-up of two colliding liquid jets. This setup is often used to break rocket fuel into droplets prior to combustion. This video shows off a new data analysis tool that lets researchers break the flow into different parts, track them in time, and extract data about the changes that happen along the way. (Video and image credit: E. Pruitt et al.)