Experimental study of loss of drop shape stability in a swirling flow

The results of an experimental study of drop motion and breakdown in a swirling flow of a viscous liquid at small Reynolds numbers are presented. It is shown for the first time that the drop breakdown is observed at some critical values of the Bond number at small Reynolds numbers. The dependence of the critical Bond number, corresponding to drop shape instability by the Rayleigh-Taylor mechanism, on drop motion regime at Reynolds numbers Re = 0.03–0.84 is experimentally found.