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Experimental study of droplet splashing phenomena on hydrophobic micro-and micro/nano-textured surfaces

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Abstract

Droplet splashing phenomena are observed experimentally on the well-designed hydrophobic micro and micro-/nano-textured surfaces. The critical Weber numbers (Wecr) for splashing are investigated by considering the geometrical surface conditions. The splashing was facilitated with large micropillar spacing and diameter and suppressed with small ones. Large pillar spacing and diameter enabled easy penetration of liquid by reduced capillary force and increased the outlet of airflow. This air-liquid velocity difference creates instability at the edge of the spreading droplet, thereby generating splashing based on the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability mechanism. Besides, earlier splashing was observed on micro/nano textures than on microtextured surfaces. Since the impacting droplet could not penetrate the nanopillars due to higher capillary pressure and slip boundary condition formation, it reduces airflow friction. Hence an increase in the air-liquid velocity ratio renders splashing.

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Abbreviations

A :

Area

D 0 :

Droplet initial diameter

d m :

Micropillar diameter

f :

Roughness ratio

F r :

Retention force

h m :

Micropillar height

h i :

Liquid penetration depth

p m :

Pitch distance between micropillars

P C :

Capillary pressure

P D :

Dynamic pressure

s m :

Micropillar spacing

U 0 :

Drop impact velocity

U air :

Expelled airflow velocity

θ :

Contact angle

μ :

Dynamic viscosity

ρ :

Density

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korean government (MOE) (no. NRF-2018R1D1A1B07048332). This work was supported by the “Human Resources Program in Energy Technology” program of the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (KETEP), financed by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Republic of Korea (grant no. 20184010201700). We thank SuKon Kim of the National Institute for Nanomaterials Technology (NINT) for help with the MEMS.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Design Engineering, Pukyong National University, Busan, 48547, Korea

    Narayan Pandurang Sapkal, Su Cheong Park, Yeon Won Lee & Dong In Yu

Authors
  1. Narayan Pandurang Sapkal
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  2. Su Cheong Park
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  3. Yeon Won Lee
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dong In Yu.

Additional information

Narayan Pandurang Sapkal received his Master degree (2016) in Mechanical Engineering from Pukyong National University, Korea. Currently, he is a Ph.D. Student at the Department of Mechanical Design Engineering, Pukyong National University, Korea.

Su Cheong Park received a Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from POSTECH, Korea in 2020. Dr. Park is currently a Post Doctor at the Department of Mechanical Design Engineering in Pukyong National University, Korea.

Yeon Won Lee received a Ph.D. in Turbulence Modeling and Numerical Methods in 1993 from the University of Tokyo. Since 1993, Dr. Lee has been a Professor at the School of Mechanical Engineering, Pukyong National University, Korea.

Dong In Yu received a Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from POSTECH, Korea, in 2014. Dr. Yu is currently an Assistant Professor at the Department of Mechanical Design Engineering in Pukyong National University, Korea.

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Sapkal, N.P., Park, S.C., Lee, Y.W. et al. Experimental study of droplet splashing phenomena on hydrophobic micro-and micro/nano-textured surfaces. J Mech Sci Technol 35, 5061–5070 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-021-1023-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-021-1023-0

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