Jeremy Marston

Stabilization of Leidenfrost vapour layer by textured superhydrophobic surfaces

In 1756, Leidenfrost observed that water drops skittered on a sufficiently hot skillet, owing to levitation by an evaporative vapour film. Such films are stable only when the hot surface is above a critical temperature, and are a central phenomenon in boiling. In this so-called Leidenfrost regime, the low thermal conductivity of the vapour layer inhibits heat transfer between the hot surface and the liquid. When the temperature of the cooling surface drops below the critical temperature, the vapour film collapses and the system enters a nucleate-boiling regime, which can result in vapour explosions that are particularly detrimental in certain contexts, such as in nuclear power plants. The presence of these vapour films can also reduce liquid–solid drag. Here we show how vapour film collapse can be completely suppressed at textured superhydrophobic surfaces. At a smooth hydrophobic surface, the vapour film still collapses on cooling, albeit at a reduced critical temperature, and the system switches explosively to nucleate boiling. In contrast, at textured, superhydrophobic surfaces, the vapour layer gradually relaxes until the surface is completely cooled, without exhibiting a nucleate-boiling phase. This result demonstrates that topological texture on superhydrophobic materials is critical in stabilizing the vapour layer and thus in controlling—by heat transfer—the liquid–gas phase transition at hot surfaces. This concept can potentially be applied to control other phase transitions, such as ice or frost formation, and to the design of low-drag surfaces at which the vapour phase is stabilized in the grooves of textures without heating.

Dynamic air layer on textured superhydrophobic surfaces.

We provide an experimental demonstration that a novel macroscopic, dynamic continuous air layer or plastron can be sustained indefinitely on textured superhydrophobic surfaces in air-supersaturated water by a natural gas influx mechanism. This type of plastron is an intermediate state between Leidenfrost vapor layers on superheated surfaces and the equilibrium Cassie-Baxter wetting state on textured superhydrophobic surfaces. We show that such a plastron can be sustained on the surface of a centimeter-sized superhydrophobic sphere immersed in heated water and variations of its dynamic behavior with air saturation of the water can be regulated by rapid changes of the water temperature. The simple experimental setup allows for quantification of the air flux into the plastron and identification of the air transport model of the plastron growth. Both the observed growth dynamics of such plastrons and millimeter-sized air bubbles seeded on the hydrophilic surface under identical air-supersaturated solution conditions are consistent with the predictions of a well-mixed gas transport model.

Squeeze flow of a Carreau fluid during sphere impact

We present results from a combined numerical and experimental investigation into the squeeze flow induced when a solid sphere impacts onto a thin, ultra-viscous film of non-Newtonian fluid. We examine both the sphere motion through the liquid as well as the fluid flow field in the region directly beneath the sphere during approach to a solid plate. In the experiments we use silicone oil as the model fluid, which is well-described by the Carreau model. We use high-speed imaging and particle tracking to achieve flow visualisation within the film itself and derive the corresponding velocity fields. We show that the radial velocity either diverges as the gap between the sphere and the wall diminishes (Ztip → 0) or that it reaches a maximum value and then decays rapidly to zero as the sphere comes to rest at a non-zero distance (Ztip = Zmin) away from the wall. The horizontal shear rate is calculated and is responsible for significant viscosity reduction during the approach of the sphere. Our model of this flo...

Foam-Film-Stabilized Liquid Bridge Networks in Evaporative Lithography and Wet Granular Matter

Evaporative lithography using latex particle templates is a novel approach for the self-assembly of suspension-dispersed nanoparticles into ordered microwire networks. The phenomenon that drives the self-assembly process is the propagation of a network of interconnected liquid bridges between the template particles and the underlying substrate. With the aid of video microscopy, we demonstrate that these liquid bridges are in fact the border zone between the underlying substrate and foam films vertical to the substrate, which are formed during the evaporation of the liquid from the suspension. The stability of the foam films and thus the liquid bridge network stability are due to the presence of a small amount of surfactant in the evaporating solution. We show that the same type of foam-film-stabilized liquid bridge network can also propagate in 3D clusters of spherical particles, which has important implications for the understanding of wet granular matter.

Direct verification of the lubrication force on a sphere travelling through a viscous film upon approach to a solid wall

Experiments were performed to observe the motion of a solid sphere approaching a solid wall through a thin layer of a viscous liquid. We focus mainly on cases where the ratio of the film thickness, δ, to the sphere diameter, D, is in the range 0.03 < δ/D < 0.09 and the Stokes number, St, a measure of the sphere inertia to viscous forces, is below a critical level St c so that the spheres do not rebound and escape from the liquid layer. This provides us with the scope to verify the force acting on the sphere, derived from lubrication theory. Using high-speed video imaging we show, for the first time, that the equations of motion based on the lubrication approximation correctly describe the deceleration of the sphere when St < St c . Furthermore, we show that the penetration depth at which the sphere motion is first arrested by the viscous force, which decreases with increasing Stokes number, matches well with theoretical predictions. An example for a shear-thinning liquid is also presented, showing that this simple set-up may be used to deduce the short-time dynamical behaviour of non-Newtonian liquids.

Influence of the flow field in curtain coating onto a prewet substrate

The onset of air entrainment for curtain coating onto a surface prewetted with the coating fluid was studied. The substrate used was a polished, scraped steel wheel and coating was performed over ranges of dimensionless parameters observed in commercial coating processes (Reynolds number, 0.14<Re=ρQ∕μ<33.02; Capillary number, 0.19<Ca=μU∕σ<25.07). The substrate velocity for the onset of air entrainment was obtained as a function of the curtain flow rate per unit width of curtain (1<Q<9cm2s−1), fluid dynamic viscosity (0.0326<μ<0.878Pas), curtain height (0.035<h<0.095m), and thickness of the prewet film (1×10−7<c<3×10−5m). A remarkable and strong dependence of the onset of air entrainment on curtain flow rate was observed (hydrodynamic assist) and the general features of the hydrodynamics were very similar to those observed for previous works onto dry substrates. However, the presence of the prewet film led to higher maximum substrate velocities at the onset of air entrainment than observed for dry substrat...

Experimental and numerical characterization of the water flow in spacer-filled channels of spiral-wound membranes

Micro-scale flow distribution in spacer-filled flow channels of spiral-wound membrane modules was determined with a particle image velocimetry system (PIV), aiming to elucidate the flow behaviour in spacer-filled flow channels. Two-dimensional water velocity fields were measured in a flow cell (representing the feed spacer-filled flow channel of a spiral wound reverse osmosis membrane module without permeate production) at several planes throughout the channel height. At linear flow velocities (volumetric flow rate per cross-section of the flow channel considering the channel porosity, also described as crossflow velocities) used in practice (0.074 and 0.163 m·s(-1)) the recorded flow was laminar with only slight unsteadiness in the upper velocity limit. At higher linear flow velocity (0.3 m·s(-1)) the flow was observed to be unsteady and with recirculation zones. Measurements made at different locations in the flow cell exhibited very similar flow patterns within all feed spacer mesh elements, thus revealing the same hydrodynamic conditions along the length of the flow channel. Three-dimensional (3-D) computational fluid dynamics simulations were performed using the same geometries and flow parameters as the experiments, based on steady laminar flow assumption. The numerical results were in good agreement (0.85-0.95 Bray-Curtis similarity) with the measured flow fields at linear velocities of 0.074 and 0.163 m·s(-1), thus supporting the use of model-based studies in the optimization of feed spacer geometries and operational conditions of spiral wound membrane systems.

Effect of packing fraction on granular jetting from solid sphere entry into aerated and fluidized beds

When a solid sphere impacts on a granular bed, a high-speed vertical jet can arise following the collapse of the cavity that is formed by the penetration of the sphere into the bed. The jet then becomes unstable and breaks into discrete clusters due to density inhomogeneities. In this study, the jetting process was observed using high-speed photography and determined to be a function not only of impact velocity and particle size, but also of the packing fraction in the bed during the impact. Experiments were performed for two different bed diameters, two bed heights, and two impact velocities. Under certain conditions, below a threshold packing fraction, the jet is seen to divide into two distinct parts: a thin upper section followed by a thick base. Geometrical constraints are also shown to be critical in determining the dynamics of the jet.

Ionic Enhancement of Silica Surface Nanowear in Electrolyte Solutions

The nanoscale wear and friction of silica and silicon nitride surfaces in aqueous electrolyte solutions were investigated by using sharp atomic force microscope (AFM) cantilever tips coated with silicon nitride. Measurements were carried out in aqueous solutions of varying pH and in monovalent and divalent cation chloride and nitrate solutions. The silica surface was shown to wear strongly in solutions of high pH (≈11.0), as expected, but the presence of simple cations, such as Cs(+) and Ca(2+), was shown to dramatically effect the wear depth and friction force for the silica surface. In the case of monovalent cations, their hydration enthalpies correlated well with the wear and friction. The weakest hydrated cation of Cs(+) showed the most significant enhancement of wear and friction. In the case of divalent cations, a complex dependence on the type of cation was found, where the type of anion was also seen to play an important role. The CaCl(2) solution showed the anomalous enhancement of wear depth and friction force, although the solution of Ca(NO(3))(2) did not. The present results obtained with an AFM tip were also compared with previous nanotribology studies of silica surfaces in electrolyte solutions, and possible molecular mechanisms as to why cations enhance the wear and friction were also discussed.

Hysteresis and non-uniqueness in the speed of the onset of instability in curtain coating

The maximum speed of stable coating is determined experimentally by the onset of air entrainment in curtain coating onto a pre-wetted surface over a broad range of dimensionless parameters (Reynolds number: 0.14 < Re < 33.02; capillary number: 0.19<Ca<25.07). We show not only that the substrate speed at the onset of instability is flow-rate dependent for a pre-wetted surface, but that the speed at which instability occurs is not always unique for a given flow rate.