Enhanced and guided self-propelled jumping on the superhydrophobic surfaces with macrotexture

Abstract

The conventional coalescence-induced jumping of droplets has been extensively studied, but the energy conversion efficiency of conventional droplet jumping is low and the jumping direction is uncontrollable, which greatly limits the application of droplet jumping. In this work, we report an enhanced and guided self-propelled jumping on a superhydrophobic surface with macrotexture and analyze the mechanism of enhancement and guidance. The interaction between the liquid bridge and macrotexture changes the direction of the jumping droplet and enhances the energy conversion efficiency. The direction of droplet jumping can be controlled at about 45°, and the energy conversion efficiency can be increased by about 2.7 times.

Liquid Metal Slingshot-a Self-Propelled and Controllable Motion

“…The physical parameters are the same as the experimental parameters. More detailed experimental and simulation can be seen in our previous research 11,25,29 .…”

“…Surface tension can drive aqueous liquids to produce a series of self-propelled motion phenomena on a micro-scale. For instance, the directional transport of droplets occurs on a surface with wetting gradient or with anisotropic structure [19][20][21][22] ; the self-propelled jumping and sweeping of condensing droplets on the superhydrophobic surface [23][24][25][26] , the rotation, and curling of the ice water mixture in a superhydrophobic surface or a slippery surface 27,28 . These self-propelled motion have high scientific value and application value and are still the research hotspot at present.…”

A Novel Continuous Drop-Wise Condensation Technology for Improved Heat and Mass Transfer Efficiencies

“…This improvement is highly dependant on the frequency of droplet shedding on surfaces. Droplets shedding has been achieved primarily by gravity assistance (20)(21)(22), droplet jumping (14,(23)(24)(25), drag force (26)(27)(28)(29)(30), or by capillary driven movement (31,32). It has been widely accepted that droplets of diameters below 20 micron contribute about 80% of the total heat transfer to the surface (33).…”

Effect of surface roughness on the angular acceleration for a droplet on a super-hydrophobic surface

“…There are many movement models of droplets on a super-hydrophobic surface. These include bouncing [23,24], rolling [25][26][27][28][29], and sliding [30][31][32], however, they are controversial [11,[33][34][35]. Many researchers consider that the motion of the droplet on a super-hydrophobic material involves sliding and the sliding angle is only related to the contact angle.…”