Dynamics and deformation of a drop in a DC electric field

We consider a single conducting drop in suspension in a poorly conducting liquid between two horizontal electrodes. When a DC field is applied to the electrodes, the drop charges and rises within the liquid, then falls down as its charge leaks away, due to the finite electric relaxation time of the liquid. The drop keeps bouncing as long as the high voltage applied remains above a minimum threshold. We focus our study on the dynamics and the deformation of a water drop before the lift-off and during its motion. Electrodes of different materials are used in order to illustrate the role of interfacial energy between the electrode and the water.