1,392 research outputs found
Dynamics of sliding drops on superhydrophobic surfaces
We use a free energy lattice Boltzmann approach to investigate numerically
the dynamics of drops moving across superhydrophobic surfaces. The surfaces
comprise a regular array of posts small compared to the drop size. For drops
suspended on the posts the velocity increases as the number of posts decreases.
We show that this is because the velocity is primarily determined by the
contact angle which, in turn, depends on the area covered by posts. Collapsed
drops, which fill the interstices between the posts, behave in a very different
way. The posts now impede the drop behaviour and the velocity falls as their
density increases.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figures, accepted for publication in Europhys. Let
Hydrodynamic friction of fakir-like super-hydrophobic surfaces
A fluid droplet located on a super-hydrophobic surface makes contact with the
surface only at small isolated regions, and is mostly in contact with the
surrounding air. As a result, a fluid in motion near such a surface experiences
very low friction, and super-hydrophobic surfaces display strong drag-reduction
in the laminar regime. Here we consider theoretically a super-hydrophobic
surface composed of circular posts (so called fakir geometry) located on a
planar rectangular lattice. Using a superposition of point forces with suitably
spatially-dependent strength, we derive the effective surface slip length for a
planar shear flow on such a fakir surface as the solution to an infinite series
of linear equations. In the asymptotic limit of small surface coverage by the
posts, the series can be interpreted as Riemann sums, and the slip length can
be obtained analytically. For posts on a square lattice, our analytical results
are in excellent quantitative agreement with previous numerical computations
Microstructured superhydrorepellent surfaces: Effect of drop pressure on fakir-state stability and apparent contact angles
In this paper we present a generalized Cassi-Baxter equation to take into
account the effect of drop pressure on the apparent contact angle theta_{app}.
Also we determine the limiting pressure p_{W} which causes the impalement
transition to the Wenzel state and the pull-off pressure p_{out} at which the
drop detaches from the substrate. The calculations have been carried out for
axial-symmetric pillars of three different shapes: conical, hemispherical
topped and flat topped cylindrical pillars. Calculations show that, assuming
the same pillar spacing, conical pillars may be more incline to undergo an
impalement transition to the Wenzel state, but, on the other hand, they are
characterized by a vanishing pull-off pressure which causes the drop not to
adhere to the substrate and therefore to detach very easily. We infer that this
property should strongly reduce the contact angle hysteresis as experimentally
osberved in Ref. \cite{Martines-Conical-Shape}. It is possible to combine large
resistance to impalement transition (i.e. large value of p_{W}) and small (or
even vanishing) detaching pressure p_{out} by employing cylindrical pillars
with conical tips. We also show that depending on the particular pillar
geometry, the effect of drop pressure on the apparent contact angle theta_{app}
may be more or less significant. In particular we show that in case of conical
pillars increasing the drop pressure causes a significant decrease of
theta_{app} in agreement with some experimental investigations
\cite{LafunaTransitio}, whereas theta_{app} slightly increases for
hemispherical or flat topped cylindrical pillars.Comment: 21 pages, 13 figure
A Calibrated Time Domain Envelope Measurement System for the Behavioral Modeling of Power Amplifiers
This paper presents a set-up which enables the generation and the calibrated time domain measurements of complex envelopes of modulated signals at both ports of non linear microwave power amplifiers. The architecture of the characterization tool is given. Examples of error corrected time domain envelopes at the input / output RF ports of a 36 dBm output power – 30dB power gain L-band SSPA are shown. Futhermore, the use of this characterization tool and a suitable processing of measurement data are applied to a novel measurement based behavioral modeling approach of non linear devices accounting for memory effects
Optical characterization of marine phytoplankton assemblages within surface waters of the western Arctic Ocean.
An extensive data set of measurements within the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas is used to characterize the optical properties of seawater associated with different phytoplankton communities. Hierarchical cluster analysis of diagnostic pigment concentrations partitioned stations into four distinct surface phytoplankton communities based on taxonomic composition and average cell size. Concurrent optical measurements of spectral absorption and backscattering coefficients and remote-sensing reflectance were used to characterize the magnitudes and spectral shapes of seawater optical properties associated with each phytoplankton assemblage. The results demonstrate measurable differences among communities in the average spectral shapes of the phytoplankton absorption coefficient. Similar or smaller differences were also observed in the spectral shapes of nonphytoplankton absorption coefficients and the particulate backscattering coefficient. Phytoplankton on average, however, contributed only 25% or less to the total absorption coefficient of seawater. Our analyses indicate that the interplay between the magnitudes and relative contributions of all optically significant constituents generally dampens any influence of varying phytoplankton absorption spectral shapes on the total absorption coefficient, yet there is still a marked discrimination observed in the spectral shape of the ratio of the total backscattering to total absorption coefficient and remote-sensing reflectance among the phytoplankton assemblages. These spectral variations arise mainly from differences in the bio-optical environment in which specific communities were found, as opposed to differences in the spectral shapes of phytoplankton optical properties per se. These results suggest potential approaches for the development of algorithms to assess phytoplankton community composition from measurements of seawater optical properties in western Arctic waters
Change in drag, apparent slip and optimum air layer thickness for laminar flow over an idealised superhydrophobic surface
Analytic results are derived for the apparent slip length, the change in drag and the optimum air layer thickness of laminar channel and pipe flow over an idealised superhydrophobic surface, i.e. a gas layer of constant thickness retained on a wall. For a simple Couette flow the gas layer always has a drag reducing effect, and the apparent slip length is positive, assuming that there is a favourable viscosity contrast between liquid and gas. In pressure-driven pipe and channel flow blockage limits the drag reduction caused by the lubricating effects of the gas layer; thus an optimum gas layer thickness can be derived. The values for the change in drag and the apparent slip length are strongly affected by the assumptions made for the flow in the gas phase. The standard assumptions of a constant shear rate in the gas layer or an equal pressure gradient in the gas layer and liquid layer give considerably higher values for the drag reduction and the apparent slip length than an alternative assumption of a vanishing mass flow rate in the gas layer. Similarly, a minimum viscosity contrast of four must be exceeded to achieve drag reduction under the zero mass flow rate assumption whereas the drag can be reduced for a viscosity contrast greater than unity under the conventional assumptions. Thus, traditional formulae from lubrication theory lead to an overestimation of the optimum slip length and drag reduction when applied to superhydrophobic surfaces, where the gas is trapped
Wetting on a spherical wall: influence of liquid-gas interfacial properties
We study the equilibrium of a liquid film on an attractive spherical
substrate for an intermolecular interaction model exhibiting both fluid-fluid
and fluid-wall long-range forces. We first reexamine the wetting properties of
the model in the zero-curvature limit, i.e., for a planar wall, using an
effective interfacial Hamiltonian approach in the framework of the well known
sharp-kink approximation (SKA). We obtain very good agreement with a mean-field
density functional theory (DFT), fully justifying the use of SKA in this limit.
We then turn our attention to substrates of finite curvature and appropriately
modify the so-called soft-interface approximation (SIA) originally formulated
by Napi\'orkowski and Dietrich [Phys. Rev. B 34, 6469 (1986)] for critical
wetting on a planar wall. A detailed asymptotic analysis of SIA confirms the
SKA functional form for the film growth. However, it turns out that the
agreement between SKA and our DFT is only qualitative. We then show that the
quantitative discrepancy between the two is due to the overestimation of the
liquid-gas surface tension within SKA. On the other hand, by relaxing the
assumption of a sharp interface, with, e.g., a simple smoothing of the density
profile there, markedly improves the predictive capability of the theory,
making it quantitative and showing that the liquid-gas surface tension plays a
crucial role when describing wetting on a curved substrate. In addition, we
show that in contrast to SKA, SIA predicts the expected mean-field critical
exponent of the liquid-gas surface tension
Drop impact upon micro- and nanostructured superhydrophobic surfaces
We experimentally investigate drop impact dynamics onto different
superhydrophobic surfaces, consisting of regular polymeric micropatterns and
rough carbon nanofibers, with similar static contact angles. The main control
parameters are the Weber number \We and the roughness of the surface. At small
\We, i.e. small impact velocity, the impact evolutions are similar for both
types of substrates, exhibiting Fakir state, complete bouncing, partial
rebouncing, trapping of an air bubble, jetting, and sticky vibrating water
balls. At large \We, splashing impacts emerge forming several satellite
droplets, which are more pronounced for the multiscale rough carbon nanofiber
jungles. The results imply that the multiscale surface roughness at nanoscale
plays a minor role in the impact events for small \We \apprle 120 but an
important one for large \We \apprge 120. Finally, we find the effect of
ambient air pressure to be negligible in the explored parameter regime \We
\apprle 150Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure
Topography driven spreading
Roughening a hydrophobic surface enhances its nonwetting properties into superhydrophobicity. For liquids other than water, roughness can induce a complete rollup of a droplet. However, topographic effects can also enhance partial wetting by a given liquid into complete wetting to create superwetting. In this work, a model system of spreading droplets of a nonvolatile liquid on surfaces having lithographically produced pillars is used to show that superwetting also modifies the dynamics of spreading. The edge speed-dynamic contact angle relation is shown to obey a simple power law, and such power laws are shown to apply to naturally occurring surfaces
Plastron induced drag reduction and increased slip on a superhydrophobic sphere
On low contact angle hysteresis superhydrophobic surfaces, droplets of water roll easily. It is intuitively appealing, but less obvious, that when such material is immersed in water, the liquid will flow more easily across its surface. In recent experiments it has been demonstrated that superhydrophobic surfaces with the same high contact angle and low contact angle hysteresis may not, in fact, have the same drag reducing properties. A key performance parameter is whether the surface is able to retain a layer of air (i.e. a plastron) when fully immersed. In this report, we consider an analytical model of Stokes flow (i.e. low Reynolds number, Re, creeping flow) across a surface retaining a continuous layer of air. The system is based on a compound droplet model consisting of a solid sphere encased in a sheathing layer of air and is the extreme limit of a solid sphere with a superhydrophobic surface. We demonstrate that an optimum thickness of air exists at which the drag on this compound object is minimized and that the level of drag reduction can approach 20 to 30%. Physically, drag reduction is caused by the ability of the external flow to transfer momentum across the water-air interface generating an internal circulation of air within the plastron
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