English

Self-Propulsion of Liquid Marbles: Leidenfrost-Like Levitation Driven by the Marangoni Flow

Classical Physics 2015-02-17 v1 Soft Condensed Matter

Abstract

Self-propulsion of liquid marbles filled with aqueous alcohol solutions and placed on a water surface is reported. The characteristic of velocity of the marbles is about 0.1 m/s. The phenomenon of self-propulsion is related to the Marangoni solutocapillary flow caused by the condensation of alcohol, evaporated from the liquid marble, on a water surface. The Marangoni flow in turn enhances the evaporation of alcohol from marbles. Addition of alcohol to the water supporting the marbles suppresses the self-propulsion. The propulsion of liquid marbles is mainly stopped by water drag. The velocity of the center of mass of marbles grows with the increase of the concentration of alcohol in a marble. The velocity of marbles self-propulsion is independent on their volume.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1502.04292,
  title  = {Self-Propulsion of Liquid Marbles: Leidenfrost-Like Levitation Driven by the Marangoni Flow},
  author = {Edward Bormashenko and Yelena Bormashenko and Roman Grynyov and Hadas Aharoni and Gene Whyman and Bernard P. Binks},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1502.04292},
  year   = {2015}
}

Comments

23 pages, 9 gigures