Dynamics of the spontaneous breakdown of superhydrophobicity
Fluid Dynamics
2009-11-13 v2 Disordered Systems and Neural Networks
Pattern Formation and Solitons
Abstract
Drops deposited on rough and hydrophobic surfaces can stay suspended with gas pockets underneath the liquid, then showing very low hydrodynamic resistance. When this superhydrophobic state breaks down, the subsequent wetting process can show different dynamical properties. A suitable choice of the geometry can make the wetting front propagate in a stepwise manner leading to {\it square-shaped} wetted area: the front propagation is slow and the patterned surface fills by rows through a {\it zipping} mechanism. The multiple time scale scenario of this wetting process is experimentally characterized and compared to numerical simulations.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.0708.2629,
title = {Dynamics of the spontaneous breakdown of superhydrophobicity},
author = {C. Pirat and M. Sbragaglia and A. M. Peters and B. M. Borkent and R. G. H. Lammertink and M. Wessling and D. Lohse},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0708.2629},
year = {2009}
}
Comments
7 pages, 5 figures