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An Experimental Study on Complete Droplet Rebound from Soft Surfaces: Critical Weber Numbers, Maximum Spreading, and
Lei Yang1, Ximiao Liu1, Jinyang Wang2,3
1College of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen 518060, China.
Langmuir : the ACS Journal of Surfaces and Colloids
|January 17, 2024
Summary
Droplet viscosity and soft surface properties critically affect liquid droplet rebound. Higher viscosity increases rebound limits, while surface elasticity influences these limits differently, impacting droplet dynamics.
Area of Science:
- Fluid dynamics
- Materials science
- Surface science
Background:
- Understanding droplet impact dynamics on soft materials is crucial for applications in printing, coating, and biological systems.
- Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is a widely used soft material for studying droplet interactions due to its tunable elastic properties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally investigate the influence of liquid viscosity and PDMS elastic modulus on droplet rebound.
- To determine the effects on critical rebound Weber numbers, maximum spreading, and contact time.
- To analyze the phenomenon of discontinuous contact time during droplet impact.
Main Methods:
- Experimental study of droplet impact on PDMS surfaces.
- Systematic variation of liquid viscosity and PDMS elastic modulus.
- High-speed imaging to capture droplet dynamics and measure parameters like spreading, contact time, and rebound.
Main Results:
- Both lower and upper critical Weber numbers increase with increasing droplet viscosity.
- The upper critical Weber number increases as PDMS elastic modulus decreases, while the lower critical Weber number decreases.
- PDMS elastic modulus showed no significant effect on maximum spreading time and contact time.
- A novel phenomenon of discontinuous contact time was observed and theoretically explained.
Conclusions:
- Liquid viscosity and substrate elasticity are key parameters governing droplet rebound on soft surfaces.
- The observed trends in critical Weber numbers provide insights into the energy dissipation mechanisms during impact.
- The discontinuous contact time phenomenon warrants further investigation for a complete understanding of droplet-surface interactions.
