CoMPhy Lab · Research

Research

Currently

Current interests include mycofluidic transport, the influence of non-Newtonian rheology on hydrodynamic singularities, and respiratory-droplet formation driven by viscoelastic mucus rheology.

01 · Themes

How does soft matter break?

Drop impact & impact forces

Inertia, viscosity, surface tension, wettability, and rheology set the force history during impact. We connect liquid drops and soft elastic beads through a shared impact-regime diagram.

2026 Impacting spheres: from liquid drops to elastic beads Soft Matter · Cover

2025 Unifying theory of scaling in drop impact Phys. Rev. Lett.

2023 When does an impacting drop stop bouncing? J. Fluid Mech.

Soft matter singularities

Capillary-wave focusing after bubble-cap rupture launches Worthington jets. Viscosity and elasticity decide whether those jets eject droplets, thicken, or fail to pinch off across Newtonian, viscoplastic, and elastoviscoplastic media.

2025 Viscoelastic Worthington Jets and Droplets Produced by Bursting Bubbles J. Fluid Mech.

2024 Bursting bubble in an elastoviscoplastic medium J. Fluid Mech.

2021 Bursting bubble in a viscoplastic medium J. Fluid Mech.

Holes & Taylor–Culick retractions

Surface tension retracts holes in thin sheets; viscosity, inertia, surrounding fluid, and surfactant set rim growth and droplet breakup. We study double-threshold rupture in draining films.

2026 Holes in sheets: double-threshold rupture of draining liquid films Phys. Rev. Lett.

2022 Taylor–Culick retractions and the influence of the surroundings J. Fluid Mech.

2025 Focusing of concentric free-surface waves J. Fluid Mech.

Open-source DNS for complex fluids

We extend Basilisk C with non-Newtonian, viscoelastic, and elastoviscoplastic solvers, and contribute integral surface-tension formulations. Every paper ships with a reproducible simulation repository.

2025 Integral surface tension formulations in a VOF framework · Marangoni flows J. Comput. Phys.

2025 Electrolyte droplet spraying in H₂ bubbles during water electrolysis Nat. Commun.

2026 Rheology of Two-Dimensional Dilute Emulsions Phys. Rev. Fluids

02 · Full list

All publications

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Work in Progress

Gordillo, J. M., Rodríguez-Rodríguez, J., & Sanjay, V. Self-similar Worthington jets. arXiv preprint arXiv:2607.08972 (2026).

arXiv · 2607.08972 GitHub

Yang, Z., Sanjay, V., Constante-Amores, C. R., & Feng, J. Confinement-Induced Suppression of Jet Drop Size by Bubble Bursting in Shallow Liquids. arXiv preprint arXiv:2606.28609 (2026).

arXiv · 2606.28609

Ghaemi, A. H., Yang, Z., Huang, A., Sanjay, V., Feng, J., & Constante-Amores, C. R. Bursting bubbles in Herschel-Bulkley fluids: dynamics and jetting transitions. arXiv preprint arXiv:2511.23345 (2025).

arXiv · 2511.23345 GitHub Blog · Coming Soon

2026

[26] Sanjay, V. Singularities in Soft Matter Systems. Contemporary Physics (2026).

Contemporary Physics · DOI: 10.1080/00107514.2026.2721118 arXiv · 2608.11060

Visual dictionary for singularities in soft matter: pinch-off, contact line, interfacial cusp, and beyond-interface cutoffs

[25] Verschuur, C. I., Oratis, A. T., Sanjay, V., & Snoeijer, J. H. How elasticity affects bubble pinch-off. Phys. Rev. Fluids, 11, 073302 (2026).

PRF · DOI: 10.1103/5sp3-k5l2 arXiv · 2511.20075 Video · mp4 GitHub Blog · Coming Soon

Drop vs bubble pinch-off: Newtonian and elastic sequences with stress scaling

[24] Appleford, T., Sanjay, V., & Jalaal, M. Rheology of Two-Dimensional Dilute Emulsions. Phys. Rev. Fluids, 11, 033607 (2026).

PRF · DOI: 10.1103/9dgt-rkp5 arXiv · 2508.13022 GitHub Blog · Coming Soon

[23] Jana, S., Kolinski, J., Lohse, D., & Sanjay, V. Impacting spheres: from liquid drops to elastic beads. Soft Matter, 22, 2226-2236 (2026).

Soft Matter · DOI: 10.1039/D5SM01078K arXiv · 2510.24855 GitHub Blog · Coming Soon

Highlights

Selected as the cover article for Soft Matter, Issue 11 (2026).

[22] Dixit, A. K., Zhao, C., Zaleski, S., Lohse, D., & Sanjay, V. Holes in Sheets: Double-Threshold Rupture of Draining Liquid Films. Phys. Rev. Lett., 136, 084001 (2026).

Phys. Rev. Lett. · DOI: 10.1103/bdpw-7mr5 arXiv · 2509.12789 GitHub Blog · Coming Soon

[21] Díaz, D., Bhargava, A. S., Walz, F., Sharifi, A., Summaly, S., Berger, R., Kappl, M., Butt, H.-J., Lohse, D., Willers, T., Sanjay, V., & Vollmer, D. Stood-up Drop to Determine Receding Contact Angles. Soft Matter, 22, 657-667 (2026).

Soft Matter · DOI: 10.1039/D5SM00985E arXiv · 2511.20259 GitHub Blog · Coming Soon

2025

[20] Demirkır, Ç., Yang, R., Bashkatov, A., Sanjay, V., Lohse, D., & Krug, D. To jump or not to jump: Adhesion and viscous dissipation dictate the detachment of coalescing wall-attached bubbles. Phys. Rev. Fluids, 10, 123602 (2025).

PRF · OA arXiv · 2501.05532 GitHub Blog · Coming Soon

[19] Mclauchlan, J., Walker, J. S., Sanjay, V., Jalaal, M., Reid, J. P., Squires, A. M., & Souslov, A. Bouncing microdroplets on hydrophobic surfaces. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 122, e2507309122 (2025).

PNAS · OA arXiv · 2503.22527 Blog · Coming Soon

[18] Saini, M., Sanjay, V., Saade, Y., Lohse, D., & Popinet, S. Implementation of integral surface tension formulations in a volume of fluid framework and their applications to Marangoni flows. J. Comput. Phys., 542, 114348 (2025).

J. Comput. Phys. · OA GitHub Blog · Coming Soon

[17] Bashkatov, A., Bürkle, F., Demirkır, Ç., Ding, W., Sanjay, V., Babich, A., Yang, X., Mutschke, G., Czarske, J., Lohse, D., Krug, D., Lars, B., & Eckert, E. Electrolyte droplet spraying in H2 bubbles during water electrolysis under normal and microgravity conditions. Nat. Commun., 16, 4580 (2025).

Nat. Commun. · OA arXiv · 2409.00515 GitHub Blog · Coming Soon

[16] Dixit, A., Oratis, A., Zinelis, K., Lohse, D., & Sanjay, V. Viscoelastic Worthington Jets and Droplets Produced by Bursting Bubbles. J. Fluid Mech., 1010, A2 (2025).

JFM · OA arXiv · 2408.05089 GitHub Blog · Coming Soon

[15] Sanjay, V., & Lohse, D. Unifying theory of scaling in drop impact: Forces & maximum spreading diameter. Phys. Rev. Lett., 134, 104003 (2025).

PRL · OA arXiv · 2408.12714 GitHub Blog · Coming Soon

Parameter space of drop impact

[14] Sanjay, V., Zhang, B., Lv, C., & Lohse, D. The role of viscosity on drop impact forces on non-wetting surfaces. J. Fluid Mech., 1004, A6 (2025).

JFM · OA arXiv · 2311.03012 GitHub Blog · Coming Soon

Highlights

Cover of that volume of J. Fluid Mech.

[13] Kayal, L., Sanjay, V., Yewale, N., Kumar, A., & Dasgupta, R. Focusing of concentric free-surface waves. J. Fluid Mech., 1003, A14 (2025).

JFM · OA arXiv · 2406.05416 GitHub Blog · Coming Soon

2024

[12] Balasubramanian, A. G., Sanjay, V., Jalaal, M., Vinuesa, R., & Tammisola, O. Bursting bubble in an elastoviscoplastic medium. J. Fluid Mech., 1001, A9 (2024).

JFM · OA GitHub Blog · Coming Soon

Highlights

Cover of that volume of J. Fluid Mech.

2023

[11] Sanjay, V., Chantelot, P., & Lohse, D. When does an impacting drop stop bouncing? J. Fluid Mech., 958, A26 (2023).

JFM · OA GitHub Blog · Coming Soon

[10] Sanjay, V., Lakshman, S., Chantelot, P., Snoeijer, J. H., & Lohse, D. Drop impact on viscous liquid films. J. Fluid Mech., 958, A25 (2023).

JFM · OA GitHub Blog · Coming Soon

2022

➡️ Sanjay, V. Viscous free-surface flows. Ph.D. Thesis, Physics of Fluids, University of Twente (2022).

Thesis · Download UT · link LaTeX · source code Defense · Watch online Blog · Coming Soon

[9] Sanjay, V., Sen, U., Kant, P., and Lohse, D. Taylor–Culick retractions and the influence of the surroundings. J. Fluid Mech., 948, A14 (2022).

JFM · OA GitHub Blog · Coming Soon

[8] Zhang, B., Sanjay, V., Shi, S., and Zhao, Y., and Lv, C., and Feng, X.-Q., & Lohse, D. Impact forces of water drops falling on superhydrophobic surfaces. Phys. Rev. Lett., 129(10), 104501 (2022).

GitHub PDF · Download arXiv · 2202.02437 Phys. Rev. Lett. · DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.129.104501 Blog · Coming Soon

Highlights

As of March/April 2024, this highly cited paper received enough citations to place it in the top 1% of the academic field of Physics based on a highly cited threshold for the field and publication year. Source: Web of Science.
Editor’s Suggestion of that issue of Phys. Rev. Lett.
Research Highlight: Castelvecchi, D. The physics of a bouncing droplet’s impact. Nature, 609, 225 (2022). DOI: 10.1038/d41586-022-02302-w

2021

[7] Sanjay, V., Lohse, D., & Jalaal, M. Bursting bubble in a viscoplastic medium. J. Fluid Mech., 922, A2 (2021).

JFM · OA arXiv · 2101.07744 GitHub Blog · Coming Soon

2020

[6] Ramírez-Soto, O., Sanjay, V., Lohse, D., Pham, J. T., & Vollmer, D. Lifting a sessile oil drop from a superamphiphobic surface with an impacting one. Sci. Adv., 6(34), eaba4330 (2020).

Sci. Adv. · OA arXiv · 1912.02667 GitHub Blog · Coming Soon

2019

[5] Jain, A., Sanjay, V., & Das, A. K. Consequences of inclined and dual jet impingement in stagnant liquid and stratified layers. AIChE J., 65(1), 372-384 (2019).

PDF · Available DOI · 10.1002/aic.16373 Blog · Coming Soon

2018

[4] Soni, A., Sanjay, V., & Das, A. K. Formation of fluid structures due to jet-jet and jet-sheet interactions. Chem. Eng. Sci., 191, 67-77 (2018).

PDF · Available DOI · 10.1016/j.ces.2018.06.055 Blog · Coming Soon

[3] Sanjay, V., Das, A.K. Numerical assessment of hazard in compartmental fire having steady heat release rate from the source. Build. Simul. 11, 613–624 (2018).

PDF · Available DOI · 10.1007/s12273-017-0411-y Blog · Coming Soon

2017

[2] Sanjay, V., & Das, A. K. Formation of liquid chain by collision of two laminar jets. Phys. Fluids, 29(11), 112101 (2017).

PDF · Available DOI · 10.1063/1.4998288 GitHub Blog · Coming Soon

[1] Sanjay, V., & Das, A. K. On air entrainment in a water pool by impingement of a jet. AIChE J., 63(11), 5169-5181 (2017).

PDF · Available DOI · 10.1002/aic.15828 Blog · Coming Soon