We analyzed the fog collection efficiency of three different sets of samples: replica (with and without microstructures), copper wire (smooth and microgrooved) and polyolefin mesh (hydrophilic, superhydrophilic and hydrophobic). The collection efficiency of the samples was compared in each set separately to investigate the influence of microstructures and/or the wettability of the surfaces on fog collection. Based on the controlled experimental conditions chosen here large differences in the efficiency were found. We found that microstructured plant replica samples collected 2-3 times higher amounts of water than that of unstructured (smooth) samples. Copper wire samples showed similar results. Moreover, microgrooved wires had a faster dripping of water droplets than that of smooth wires. The superhydrophilic mesh tested here was proved more efficient than any other mesh samples with different wettability. The amount of collected fog by superhydrophilic mesh was about 5 times higher than that of hydrophilic (untreated) mesh and was about 2 times higher than that of hydrophobic mesh.
Transient mixed convective laminar boundary layer flow of an incompressible, viscous, dissipative, electrically conducting nanofluid from a continuously stretching permeable surface in the presence of magnetic field and thermal radiation flux is studied. The model used for the unsteadiness in the momentum, temperature, and concentration fields is based on the timedependent stretching velocity and surface temperature and concentration. Similarity transformations are used to convert the governing time-dependent nonlinear boundary layer equations for momentum, thermal energy, and concentration to a system of nonlinear ordinary coupled differential equations with appropriate boundary conditions. The transformed model is shown to be controlled by a number of thermophysical parameters, namely the magnetic parameter, thermal convective parameter, mass convective parameter, suction parameter, radiation-conduction parameter, Eckert number, Prandtl number, Lewis number, Brownian motion parameter, thermophoresis parameter, and the unsteadiness parameter. Numerical solutions are obtained with the robust Nactsheim-Swigert shooting technique together with Runge-Kutta sixthorder iteration schemes. Comparisons with previously published work are performed and are found to be in excellent agreement. The effects of selected parameters on velocity, temperature, and concentration distributions and furthermore on skin friction coefficients, heat transfer rate (Nusselt number), and mass transfer rate (Sherwood number) are presented graphically. The current study has applications in high-temperature nano-technological materials processing.
Fog-collecting meshes show a great potential in ensuring the availability of a supply of sustainable freshwater in certain arid regions. In most cases, the meshes are made of hydrophilic smooth fibers. Based on the study of plant surfaces, we analyzed the fog collection using various polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers with different cross sections and surface structures with the aim of developing optimized biomimetic fog collectors. Water droplet movement and the onset of dripping from fiber samples were compared. Fibers with round, oval, and rectangular cross sections with round edges showed higher fog-collection performance than those with other cross sections. However, other parameters, for example, width, surface structure, wettability, and so forth, also influenced the performance. The directional delivery of the collected fog droplets by wavy/v-shaped microgrooves on the surface of the fibers enhances the formation of a water film and their fog collection. A numerical simulation of the water droplet spreading behavior strongly supports these findings. Therefore, our study suggests the use of fibers with a round cross section, a microgrooved surface, and an optimized width for an efficient fog collection.
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