Related papers: Gradient Induced Droplet Motion Over Soft Solids
The equilibrium shape of liquid drops on elastic substrates is determined by minimising elastic and capillary free energies, focusing on thick incompressible substrates. The problem is governed by three length scales: the size of the drop…
We propose an approach to measure surface elastic constants of soft solids. Generally, this requires one to probe interfacial mechanics at around the elastocapillary length scale, which is typically microscopic. Deformations of microscopic…
The impact of droplets on an inclined falling liquid film is studied experimentally using high-speed imaging. The falling film is created on a flat substrate with controllable thicknesses and flow rates. Droplets with different sizes and…
Nanodroplets residing near wedges or edges of solid substrates exhibit a disjoining pressure induced dynamics. Our nanoscale hydrodynamic calculations reveal that non-volatile droplets are attracted or repelled from edges or wedges…
When a mixture of propylene glycol and water is deposited on a clean glass slide, it forms a droplet of a given apparent contact angle rather than spreading as one would expect on such a high-energy surface. The droplet is stabilized by a…
A liquid drop moves on a solid surface if it is subjected to a gradient of wettability or temperature. However, the pinning defects on the surface manifested in terms of a wetting hysteresis, or first-order nonlinear friction, limit the…
The axisymmetric deformation and motion of interacting droplets in an imposed temperature gradient is considered using boundary-integral techniques for slow viscous motion. Results showing temporal drop motion, deformations and separation…
A droplet that impacts onto a solid substrate deforms in a complex dynamics. To extract the principal mechanisms that dominate this dynamics we deploy numerical simulations based on the phase field method. Direct comparison with experiments…
Liquid drops slide more slowly over soft, deformable substrates than over rigid solids. This phenomenon can be attributed to the viscoelastic dissipation induced by the moving wetting ridge, which inhibits a rapid motion, and is called…
From microfluidics to fog-harvesting applications, tiny droplets are transported along various solid substrates including hairs, threads, grooves, and other light structures. Driven by gravity, a droplet sliding along a vertical fiber is a…
The dynamics of drop impact on solid surfaces can be changed significantly by tuning the elasticity of the solid. Most prominently, the substrate deformation causes an increase in the splashing threshold as compared to impact onto perfectly…
Diamagnetic levitation can provide a completely passive method to support materials against the pull of gravity, and researchers have levitated both solids and fluids. Such levitation can be assisted by increasing the magnetic…
Droplet velocities used in impact studies were investigated using high-speed photography. It was determined that droplets do not reach terminal velocity before a typical impact, raising the question of how to predict impact velocity. This…
Recent experiments have shown that liquid drops on highly deformable substrates exhibit mutual interactions. This is similar to the Cheerios effect, the capillary interaction of solid particles at a liquid interface, but now the roles of…
Liquid infused surfaces with partially wetting lubricants have recently been exploited for numerous intriguing applications, such as for droplet manipulation, droplet collection and spontaneous motion. When partially wetting lubricants are…
Motivated by the motion of nematode sperm cells, we present a model for the motion of an adhesive gel on a solid substrate. The gel polymerizes at the leading edge and depolymerizes at the rear. The motion results from a competition between…
Solid particles floating at a liquid interface exhibit a long-ranged attraction mediated by surface tension. In the absence of bulk elasticity, this is the dominant lateral interaction of mechanical origin. Here we show that an analogous…
The dynamics of droplets on substrates has a strong impact on microfluidic systems ranging from commercially available lab-on-chip systems to state of the art developments in open microfluidics. Coalescence of micro and nano droplets on a…
We construct a novel model for the steady-state contact angles of liquid droplets at the wetted substrate. The non-removable, thin liquid film covering the substrate is governed by the intermolecular forces between molecules of liquid and…
Soft materials are ubiquitous in technological applications that require deformability, for instance, in flexible, water-repellent coatings. However, the wetting properties of pre-strained soft materials are only beginning to be explored.…