Related papers: Programmable Jumping-Droplet Condensation
Understanding the dynamics of drops on polymer-coated surfaces is crucial for optimizing applications such as self-cleaning materials or microfluidic devices. While the static and dynamic properties of deposited drops have been well…
Inspired by the observation of intricate and beautifully dynamic patterns generated by food coloring on clean glass slides, we have investigated the behavior of propylene glycol and water droplets on high energy surfaces. In this fluid…
A fluid droplet may exhibit self-propelled motion by modifying the wetting properties of the substrate. We propose a novel model for droplet propagation upon a terraced landscape of ordered layers formed as a result of surface freezing…
We propose a scalable cooperative control approach which coordinates a group of rigidly connected autonomous surface vessels to track desired trajectories in a planar water environment as a single floating modular structure. Our approach…
Water vapor condensation is common in nature and widely used in industrial applications, including water harvesting, power generation, and desalination. As compared to traditional filmwise condensation, dropwise condensation on…
We investigate the collision of a continuous liquid jet with a regular stream of immiscible droplets. The immiscible liquids, namely silicon oil for the continuous jet and an aqueous glycerol solution for the drop stream, are selected to…
Droplets move on substrates with a spatio-temporal wettability pattern as generated, for example, on light-switchable surfaces. To study such cases, we implement the boundary-element method to solve the governing Stokes equations for the…
The evaporation of a sessile droplet spontaneously induces an internal capillary liquid flow. The surface-tension driven minimisation of surface area and/or surface-tension differences at the liquid-gas interface caused by…
Motion control of droplets has generated much attention for its applications to microfluidics, where precise control of small fluid volumes is an imperative requirement. Mechanical vibrations have been shown to be effective at inducing…
The directed self-assembly of colloidal nanoparticles (NPs) using external fields guides the formation of sophisticated hierarchical materials but becomes less effective with decreasing particle size. As an alternative, electron-beam-driven…
Numerous cell-types have shown a remarkable ability to detect and move along gradients in stiffness of an underlying substrate -- a process known as durotaxis. The mechanisms underlying durotaxis are still unresolved, but generally believed…
During coalescence of liquid drops contacting a solid, the liquid sweeps wetted and solid-projected areas. The extent of sweeping dictates the performance of devices such as self-cleaning surfaces, anti-frost coatings, water harvesters, and…
We investigate jumping of sessile droplets from a solid surface in ambient oil using modulated electrowetting actuation. We focus on the case in which the electrowetting effect is activated to cause droplet spreading and then deactivated…
Biomolecules, such as proteins and RNAs, can phase separate in the cytoplasm of cells to form biomolecular condensates. Such condensates are liquid-like droplets that can wet biological surfaces such as membranes. Many molecules that…
Active droplets are artificial microswimmers built from a liquid dispersion by microfluidic tools and showing self-propelled motion. These systems hold particular interest for mimicking biological phenomena, such as some aspects of cell…
Accurate estimation of surface wettability for various degrees of hydrophobicity becomes increasingly important in the molecular design of membrane. In this paper, we develop simple yet physically realistic model for estimating contact…
Drops of active liquid crystal have recently shown the ability to self-propel, which was associated with topological defects in the orientation of active filaments [Sanchez {\em et al.}, Nature {\bf 491}, 431 (2013)]. Here, we study the…
How to make small liquid droplets move spontaneously and directionally on solid surfaces is a challenge in lab-on-chip technologies, DNA analysis, and heat exchangers. The best-known mechanism, a wettability gradient, does not move droplets…
Performing highly agile dynamic motions, such as jumping or running on uneven stepping stones has remained a challenging problem in legged robot locomotion. This paper presents a framework that combines trajectory optimization and model…
Control over the physical properties of materials is ubiquitously required in many fields. One means by which this can be achieved is controlling the internal structure of multi-component materials with an eye to enhancing mechanical…