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Published on: August 21, 2018
Wettability of a surface subjected to high frequency mechanical vibrations
R Galleguillos-Silva1, Y Vargas-Hernández1, L Gaete-Garretón1
1Laboratorio de Ultrasonidos, Departamento de Física, Universidad de Santiago de Chile, Av. Ecuador 3493, Estación Central, Santiago, Chile.
Abstract:
Ultrasonic radiation can modify some physical properties in liquid/solid interactions, such as wettability. The dependence of solid surface wettability on its vibrational state was studied. Experiments with an interface formed by distilled water deposited on a titanium alloy and surrounded by air were carried out. It is shown that it is possible to control the apparent wettability of a given liquid/solid/gas system by applying sonic-ultrasonic vibrations of controlled amplitude at the interface. The system studied is composed of a drop of distilled water deposited on a flat titanium surface in air. The contact angle was used as an indicator of apparent wettability. It is shown that the apparent wettability of a surface is linearly dependent on the peak vibration velocity and independent of the vibration frequency. Higher vibration speed lowers the contact angle and therefore causes greater surface wettability.
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