Impact Dynamics of a Droplet on Superhydrophobic Cylinders Structured with a Macro Ridge.

ABSTRACT

Reducing the contact time of a droplet hitting a solid surface is crucial for many situations. In this work, the dynamic behavior of a low-viscosity droplet on a superhydrophobic surface, which consists of a cylindrical substrate and a macro ridge placed axially on the peak, was numerically investigated via the lattice Boltzmann method. The focus was given to the spreading and the detaching morphology of the droplet at the Weber number We = 0.84-37.8 and the cylinder-to-droplet radius ratio R* = 0.57-5.71. The ridge is found to redistribute the droplet mass and affect the impact outcomes, as well as the contact time. For each R*, a jug rebound, a stretched rebound straddling the ridge, and a split detachment occur sequentially with the increasing We. When R* does not exceed 1.71, the contact time decreases continuously with the increase in We. With R* being taken between 1.71 and 5.14, the contact time initially reduces with We and plateaus after We reaches 10.3. Once R* exceeds 5.14, the split droplets may present as a bestriding shape at We > 30.3 rather than the regular jug shape with a small We. The contact time would be decreased to a second plateau in this case. In most cases, the contact time can be shortened effectively for the droplet on a ridged cylinder compared with that of a smooth cylinder.