The transition from a compact liquid volume to a set of
dispersed smaller drops, namely the process of atomization,
often involves as a transient stage the change of the liquid
topology into a sheet shape. This transition is sometimes
enforced by specific man-made devices, and also occurs
spontaneously as a result of various impacts and blow-ups. Then,
the sheet has to destabilize in some way to induce another
transition towards the formation of threads or ligaments, the
ultimate objects whose breakup sets the size distribution of the
final drops in the spray, depending on their state of
corrugation while they fragment.The physical processes that lead
to liquid sheet fragmentation are investigated for two regimes:
the first one corresponds to a situation where the interaction
with the surrounding medium is negligible and a second for which
shear at the liquid/air interface induces undulations of the
liquid sheet. Situations where liquid interfaces, flat or
curved, that are destabilized and breaks into droplet