Droplets on patterned substrates: water off a beetle's back

Abstract

SUMMARYWe present a lattice Boltzmann model to describe the spreading of droplets on chemically and topologically patterned substrates. As an example, we consider the process by which a Namibian beetle captures water on its back which is hydrophobic but covered by peaks with hydrophilic tops.

Shedding of a condensing droplet from beetle-inspired bumps

“…In the past, the LBM has been successfully used for condensation related problems [20,21]. Dupuis and Yeomans [22] employed LBM to investigate droplet condensation on Beetle inspired bumps and found that chemical patterning on the beetle's back is important for water droplet formation. Zhang et al [21] used a multicomponent LBM based on the Shan-Chen scheme to simulate dropwise condensation on nano-structured surfaces.…”