Bubble Drag Reduction Requires Large Bubbles.

In the maritime industry, the injection of air bubbles into the turbulent boundary layer under the ship hull is seen as one of the most promising techniques to reduce the overall fuel consumption. However, the exact mechanism behind bubble drag reduction is unknown. Here we show that bubble drag reduction in turbulent flow dramatically depends on the bubble size. By adding minute concentrations (6 ppm) of the surfactant Triton X-100 into otherwise completely unchanged strongly turbulent Taylor-Couette flow containing bubbles, we dramatically reduce the drag reduction from more than 40% to about 4%, corresponding to the trivial effect of the bubbles on the density and viscosity of the liquid. The reason for this striking behavior is that the addition of surfactants prevents bubble coalescence, leading to much smaller bubbles. Our result demonstrates that bubble deformability is crucial for bubble drag reduction in turbulent flow and opens the door for an optimization of the process.

Mixed mode of dissolving immersed nanodroplets at a solid-water interface.

The dissolution dynamics of microscopic oil droplets (less than 1 µm in height, i.e. nanodroplets) on a hydrophobilized silicon surface in water was experimentally studied. The lateral diameter was monitored using confocal microscopy, whereas the contact angle was measured by (disruptive) droplet polymerisation of the droplet. In general, we observed the droplets to dissolve in a mixed mode, i.e., neither in the constant contact angle mode nor in the constant contact radius mode. This means that both the lateral diameter and the contact angle of the nanodroplets decrease during the dissolution process. On average, the dissolution rate is faster for droplets with larger initial size. Droplets with the same initial size can, however, possess different dissolution rates. We ascribe the non-universal dissolution rates to chemical and geometric surface heterogeneities (that lead to contact line pinning) and cooperative effects from the mass exchange among neighbouring droplets.

How microstructures affect air film dynamics prior to drop impact.

When a drop impacts a surface, a dimple can be formed due to the increased air pressure beneath the drop before it wets the surface. We employ a high-speed color interferometry technique to measure the evolution of the air layer profiles under millimeter-sized drops impacting hydrophobic micropatterned surfaces for impact velocities of typically 0.4 m s(-1). We account for the impact phenomena and show the influence of the micropillar spacing and height on the air layer profiles. A decrease in pillar spacing increases the height of the air dimple below the impacting drop. Before complete wetting, when the impacting drop only wets the top of the pillars, the air-droplet interface deforms in between the pillars. For large pillar heights the deformation is larger, but the dimple height is hardly influenced.

Maximal air bubble entrainment at liquid-drop impact.

At impact of a liquid drop on a solid surface, an air bubble can be entrapped. Here, we show that two competing effects minimize the (relative) size of this entrained air bubble: for large drop impact velocity and large droplets, the inertia of the liquid flattens the entrained bubble, whereas for small impact velocity and small droplets, capillary forces minimize the entrained bubble. However, we demonstrate experimentally, theoretically, and numerically that in between there is an optimum, leading to maximal air bubble entrapment. For a 1.8 mm diameter ethanol droplet, this optimum is achieved at an impact velocity of 0.25 m/s. Our results have a strong bearing on various applications in printing technology, microelectronics, immersion lithography, diagnostics, or agriculture.

How micropatterns and air pressure affect splashing on surfaces.

We experimentally investigate the splashing mechanism of a millimeter-sized ethanol drop impinging on a structured solid surface, composed of micropillars, through side-view and top-view high-speed imaging. By increasing the impact velocity, we can tune the impact outcome from a gentle deposition to a violent splash, at which tiny droplets are emitted as the liquid sheet spreads laterally. We measure the splashing threshold for different micropatterns and find that the arrangement of the pillars significantly affects the splashing outcome. In particular, directional splashing in the direction in which air flows through the pattern is possible. Our top-view observations of impact dynamics reveal that entrapped air is responsible for the splashing. Indeed, by lowering the pressure of the surrounding air we show that we can suppress the splashing in the explored parameter regime.

The boiling Twente Taylor-Couette (BTTC) facility: Temperature controlled turbulent flow between independently rotating, coaxial cylinders.

A new Taylor-Couette system has been designed and constructed with precise temperature control. Two concentric independently rotating cylinders are able to rotate at maximum rates of f(i) = ± 20 Hz for the inner cylinder and f(o) = ± 10 Hz for the outer cylinder. The inner cylinder has an outside radius of r(i) = 75 mm, and the outer cylinder has an inside radius of r(o) = 105 mm, resulting in a gap of d = 30 mm. The height of the gap is L = 549 mm, giving a volume of V = 9.3 L. The geometric parameters are η = r(i)/r(o) = 0.714 and Γ = L/d = 18.3. With water as working fluid at room temperature, the Reynolds numbers that can be achieved are Re(i) = ω(i)r(i)(r(o) - r(i))/ν = 2.8 × 10(5) and Re(o) = ω(o)r(o)(r(o) - r(i))/ν = 2 × 10(5) or a combined Reynolds number of up to Re = (ω(i)r(i) - ω(o)r(o))(r(o) - r(i))/ν = 4.8 × 10(5). If the working fluid is changed to the fluorinated liquid FC-3284 with kinematic viscosity 0.42 cSt, the combined Reynolds number can reach Re = 1.1 × 10(6). The apparatus features precise temperature control of the outer and inner cylinders separately and is fully optically accessible from the side and top. The new facility offers the possibility to accurately study the process of boiling inside a turbulent flow and its effect on the flow.

Multiple states in highly turbulent Taylor-Couette flow.

The ubiquity of turbulent flows in nature and technology makes it of utmost importance to fundamentally understand turbulence. Kolmogorov's 1941 paradigm suggests that for strongly turbulent flows with many degrees of freedom and large fluctuations, there would only be one turbulent state as the large fluctuations would explore the entire higher dimensional phase space. Here we report the first conclusive evidence of multiple turbulent states for large Reynolds number, Re = O(10(6)) (Taylor number Ta = O(10(12))) Taylor-Couette flow in the regime of ultimate turbulence, by probing the phase space spanned by the rotation rates of the inner and outer cylinder. The manifestation of multiple turbulent states is exemplified by providing combined global torque- and local-velocity measurements. This result verifies the notion that bifurcations can occur in high-dimensional flows (that is, very large Re) and questions Kolmogorov's paradigm.

Direct measurements of air layer profiles under impacting droplets using high-speed color interferometry.

A drop impacting on a solid surface deforms before the liquid makes contact with the surface. We directly measure the time evolution of the air layer profile under the droplet using high-speed color interferometry, obtaining the air layer thickness before and during the wetting process. Based on the time evolution of the extracted profiles obtained at multiple times, we measure the velocity of air exiting from the gap between the liquid and the solid, and account for the wetting mechanism and bubble entrapment. The present work offers a tool to accurately measure the air layer profile and quantitatively study the impact dynamics at a short time scale before impact.