Experimental and Theoretical Investigation on Rapid Evaporation of Ethanol Droplets and Kerosene Droplets During Depressurization

This paper reports an experimental and theoretical study of rapid evaporation of ethanol droplets and kerosene droplets during depressurization. For experimental method, an ethanol droplet or a kerosene droplet was suspended on a thermocouple, which was also used to measure the droplet center temperature transition. And the droplet shape variation was recorded by a high speed camera. A theoretical analysis was developed based on the heat balance to estimate the droplet center temperature transition, and the evaporation model proposed by Abramzon and Sirignano was used to describe the droplet vaporization. According to the experimental data and theoretical analysis, both of the environmental pressure and the initial droplet diameter have a prominent influence on the droplet temperature transition. Comparing the evaporation processes of ethanol droplets and kerosene droplets with water droplets, the ethanol droplets have the fastest evaporation rate, followed by water, and the evaporation rates of kerosene droplets are the slowest. Also it was found that a bubble can easily emerge within kerosene droplet, and its lifetime is more than 1 s.     

The inclusion of the effect of the evaporation coefficient on the rate of variation of droplet radius

The paper deals with the investigation of the effect of the evaporation (condensation) coefficient of droplet substance on the rate of unsteady variation of the radius of a spherical aerosol droplet in the cases of direct and indirect inclusion of this coefficient. It is found in both cases that the effect of evaporation coefficient is most significant at the initial instant of unsteady-state process of evaporation and of condensation growth of the droplet. At this instant, the size of spherical droplet has hardly any impact on the rate of variation of its radius. As the unsteady-state process continues, the effect of the evaporation coefficient on the rate of variation of the droplet radius depends significantly on the droplet size. The larger the droplet under consideration, the lower the effect of the evaporation coefficient on the rate of variation of its radius. The rates of variation, calculated for the same values of the evaporation coefficient but for different ways of inclusion of this coefficient, differ less for larger aerosol droplets. These methods of inclusion of the evaporation coefficient are considered for the process of slow evaporation of a droplet.     

Experimental Investigation on Flash Evaporation of Saltwater Droplets Released into Vacuum

In this paper, the flash evaporation process of saltwater droplets released into vacuum is experimentally investigated. During the experiment, a saltwater (NaCl) droplet was suspended on a thermocouple junction, which was used to measure the temperature evolution. The droplet surface temperature was captured by an infrared thermal imager, and the shape variation was recorded by a high speed camera. According to the experimental results, the component and solution concentration has great influence on the evaporation process. With a rise of salt concentration in water, the evaporation rate decreases. The shape of temperature transition curve also depends on the salt concentration in solution, no matter whether it is higher or lower than the eutectic point (22.4%). The effects of environmental pressure, initial droplet temperature and initial droplet diameter on the temperature transition of droplets were also summarized based on the experimental data.     

Theoretical Investigation on Rapid Evaporation of a Saline Droplet During Depressurization

This paper reports a theoretical investigation on rapid evaporation of a saline droplet during depressurization. A mathematical model was developed to simulate the droplet temperature variation by considering the ambient pressure change, the heat transfers due to evaporation and convection at the droplet surface, accompanying the heat and mass transfer inside the droplet. The component diffusion and the temperature gradient inside the droplet were mainly discussed by comparing the numerical droplet temperature with the experimental data. The result shows that, the variation of internal concentration is small, while the temperature gradient within the droplet is significant during the evaporation process. In addition, the influencing factors of the droplet temperature variation were analyzed, such as: the final ambient pressure, theinitial salt concentration and the initial droplet temperature. The present model calculations help to understand the thermodynamic process of rapid evaporation of a saline droplet during depressurization.     

GISAXS studies of self-assembling of colloidal Co nanoparticles

In this work we report on the formation of ordered monolayers (2-D) and arrays of rods (3-D) of magnetic Co nanoparticles in magnetic field perpendicular to the substrate surface. Samples were prepared by drying a droplet of colloidal solution of Co nanoparticles (10 nm diameter) on Si/Si₃N₄ substrates in magnetic field between 0.2 and 0.9 T. The samples were characterized by high resolution scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic and magnetic force microscopy (AFM/MFM) and grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS). SEM studies of monolayers show well-ordered 2-D arrays with hexagonal symmetry of 200 nm × 500 nm in size forming a mosaic structure. Rods, about 500 nm in diameter, aligned with the field direction and forming a hexagonal pattern were obtained when higher concentration of colloid and low evaporation rate of the solvent were used. The ordering of nanoparticles in the monolayer analyzed by GISAXS is described by the local order with hexagonal symmetry. The model of close packing of hard spheres is used for ordering of particles inside the rods. Magnetic features corresponding to the 3-D arrays have been observed by MFM pointing out that all magnetic moments in the rod are oriented along the field direction.     

Molecularly Capped Omniphobic Polydimethylsiloxane Brushes with Ultra-Fast Contact Line Dynamics

Droplet friction is common and significant in any field where liquids interact with solid surfaces. This study explores the molecular capping of surface-tethered, liquid-like polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) brushes and its substantial effect on droplet friction and liquid repellency. By exchanging polymer chain terminal silanol groups for methyls using a single-step vapor phase reaction, the contact line relaxation time is decreased by three orders of magnitude–from seconds to milliseconds. This leads to a substantial reduction in the static and kinetic friction of both high- and low-surface tension fluids. Vertical droplet oscillatory imaging confirms the ultra-fast contact line dynamics of capped PDMS brushes, which is corroborated by live contact angle monitoring during fluid flow. This study proposes that truly omniphobic surfaces should not only have very small contact angle hysteresis, but their contact line relaxation time should be significantly shorter than the timescale of their useful application, i.e., a Deborah number less than unity. Capped PDMS brushes that meet these criteria demonstrate complete suppression of the coffee ring effect, excellent anti-fouling behavior, directional droplet transport, increased water harvesting performance, and transparency retention following the evaporation of non-Newtonian fluids.     

Evaporation of additive droplets in a pulse MHD generator

Theoretical investigation into evaporation of additive droplets in the combustion chamber of a pulse MHD generator were undertaken. Flow in the chamber is considered as stationary and one-dimensional; mixing in a direction perpendicular to flow is believed to be ideal, and mixing is lacking in the flow direction. It is suggested that droplets are monodisperse, spherical, and motionless relative to the gas medium. The droplet evaporation can be taken as occurring in the diffusion mode. The specific heat c _p and heat conductivity coefficient are taken to be constant and independent of temperature and the concentration of components. The Lewis number is believed to be the unit value; and the Soret and Dufour effects, negligible. A formula for calculation of the droplet evaporation rate with allowance made for chemical reactions occurring in liquid and gas media is obtained.     

Functional Surfaces with Enhanced Heat Transfer for Spray Cooling Technology

In this study the effects of nano/microstructuring and surface chemistry on wettability, evaporation rate and the Leidenfrost temperature are experimentally investigated. The functional surfaces with two alternative patterns were originally fabricated via direct femtosecond laser surface processing of polished silicon wafer in air at a fluence slightly above ablation threshold. The droplet lifetime method was used to measure the evaporation rate of a water droplet (4.5 μL) at surface temperatures of 25–350°C and to determine the Leidenfrost temperature. Generally, after processing the functional surfaces with hierarchical surface morphology demonstrate enhanced wetting behavior, evaporation rate enhancement and positive shifts in the Leidenfrost temperature. The functional surfaces with a microgrooved surface pattern, extensively covered by flake-like nanostructures, exhibit strong superhydrophilicity, resulted in a significant temperature-dependent enhancement of evaporation rate (up to 6 times) and an increase of about 30°C in the Leidenfrost temperature relative to the polished surface. The functional surfaces with a microcratered surface pattern being only hydrophilic demonstrate a nearly twofold temperature-independent enhancement of evaporation rate. Thermostability tests showed the heating of the functional surfaces above 340°C to be resulted in a drastically deteriorated wettability and a reduction of evaporative heat transfer performance under repeated experiments.     

The effect of textured surface on graphene wettability and droplet evaporation

Journal of Materials Science - The influence of a grain orientation and textured surfaces on the droplet evaporation and the graphene coating wettability is investigated. The study of the behavior...     

Passive explosion suppression by blast-induced atomisation from water containers

The experimental findings of a combined wind tunnel and field-scale explosion study of blast-induced water release and its effect on blast suppression are reported. The release of water, and its subsequent atomisation, from containers both with open and partly enclosed surfaces, was first studied in a wind tunnel. An array of water containers were then placed at differing positions from the ignition point, together with flame acceleration obstacle arrays at fixed positions, inside a 5.1 m long by 0.3 m(2) cross-section explosion duct. The droplet size and the minimum flame speed necessary for the container array to suppress the explosion were found to depend upon the number of containers in the array and on their shape and size. One particular container array extinguished the flame when placed at any position beyond 1.7 m from the ignition point. When extinction was observed the internal over-pressure was substantially reduced and the external over-pressure completely eliminated. This study suggests a new approach toward passive explosion suppression.     

CCDs for vertex detection in high energy physics

Imaging CCDs are being used in a high energy physics experiment to allow the reconstruction of charm decays, and are being developed for use in mosaic arrays for the reconstruction of events containing higher flavours (charm, bottom, top etc.). Recent results and immediate future prospects are discussed.     

Hierarchical nanoparticle assemblies formed by decorating breath figures

The combination of two self-assembly processes on different length scales leads to the formation of hierarchically structured nanoparticle arrays. Here, the formation of spherical cavities, or 'breath figures'-made by the condensation of micrometre-sized water droplets on the surface of a polymer solution-that self-assemble into a well-ordered hexagonal array, is combined with the self-assembly of CdSe nanoparticles at the polymer solution-water droplet interface. Complete evaporation of the solvent and water confines the particle assembly to an array of spherical cavities and allows for ex situ investigation. Fluorescence confocal, transmission electron and scanning electron microscope images show the preferential segregation of the CdSe nanoparticles to the polymer solution-water interface where they form a 5-7-nm-thick layer, thus functionalizing the walls of the holes. This process opens a new route to fabricating highly functionalized ordered microarrays of nanoparticles, potentially useful in sensory, separation membrane or catalytic applications.     

Effect of mechanical polishing of aluminum alloy surfaces on wetting and droplet evaporation at constant and cyclically varying pressure in the chamber

Journal of Materials Science - Improving the mechanical polishing of engineering surfaces in terms of the wetting and droplet evaporation theories is important for increasing the efficiency of...     

Spherical Nanoparticle Arrays with Tunable Nanogaps and Their Hydrophobicity Enhanced Rapid SERS Detection by Localized Concentration of Droplet Evaporation

Periodic hexagonal spherical nanoparticle arrays are fabricated by a sacrificial colloidal monolayer template route by chemical deposition and further physical deposition. The regular network‐structured arrays are first templated by colloidal monolayers and then they are changed to novel periodic spherical nanoparticle arrays by further sputtering deposition due to multiple direction deposition and shadow effect between adjacent nanoparticles. The nanogaps between two adjacent spherical nanoparticles can be well tuned by controlling deposition time. Such periodic nanoparticle arrays with gold coatings demonstrate a very stable and high sensitive surface‐enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy (SERS) performance. The periodic nanoparticle arrays with 10 nm gaps display much stronger SERS enhancement due to electromagnetic coupling. The chemically modified nanoparticle arrays show good hydrophobicity, which shorten process of detecting probe molecules using them as SERS‐active substrates by localized concentration of droplet evaporation and a low detection limit of 10⁻¹² m R6G can be achieved without solution wasting in a short time. The hydrophobic substrate offers a simple, convenient, and economical method to examine SERS performance by rapid concentration of solution on it and it is highly helpful to improve its practical applications in portable Raman detecting devices to detect organic molecules.     

Evaporation of a picoliter droplet on a wetted substrate at reduced pressure

The results of theoretical and experimental investigation of the evaporation of picoliter water droplets on a substrate at reduced pressure (20–80 Torr) have been given. The substrate temperature varied in the range 25–40°C. The calculations have been carried out in a free-molecular approximation. It has been shown that the evaporation time sharply decreases if the average droplet height is less than 10 μm and is a few milliseconds for a 5-μm-high droplet. It has been experimentally and theoretically shown that for droplets higher than 10 μm, the evaporation time is a few seconds in the investigated pressure range.     

Control of particle-deposition pattern in a sessile droplet by using radial electroosmotic flow

In this technical note, we report an experimental investigation of radial electroosmotic flow (EOF) as an effective means for controlling particle-deposition pattern inside an evaporating droplet, which has a potential application to biochemistry and analytical chemistry especially for sample preparation steps. Using the microelectrode, which consists of the circular electrode around the rim of droplet and the point electrode at the center of the droplet, we generate the radial electric field at the bottom of the electrolyte droplet. The electric field developed between the center electrode and the circular electrode causes a radial EOF in the vicinity of the bottom of the droplet. By changing the applied voltage, the strengths and directions of the radial EOF are controlled at one's own discretion, and thus, we can modify the solute distribution inside the droplet during evaporation. When the radial EOF compensates the natural outward flow at a suitable choice of electrical voltage, the particles are uniformly distributed at the entire droplet spot. Moreover, with strong radial EOF, all the particles are deposited at the center rather than at the rim. We also carry out a simple theoretical investigation of flow field inside the droplet with Smoluchowski slip velocity condition to show how the particles travel during evaporation.     

Review on modelling of corrosion under droplet electrolyte for predicting atmospheric corrosion rate

Atmospheric corrosion of metals is the most common type of corrosion which has a significant impact on the environment and operational safety in various situations of everyday life.Some of the common examples can be observed in land,water and air transportation systems,electronic circuit boards,urban and offshore infrastructures.The dew drops formed on metal surface due to condensation of atmospheric moisture facilitates corrosion as an electrolyte.The corrosion mechanisms under these droplets are different from classically known bulk electrolyte corrosion.Due to thin and non-uniform geometric thickness of the droplet electrolyte,the atmospheric oxygen requires a shorter diffusion path to reach the metal surface.The corrosion under a droplet is driven by the depletion of oxygen in the center of the droplet compared to the edge,known as differential aeration.In case of a larger droplet,differential aeration leads to preferential cathodic activity at the edge and is controlled by the droplet geometry.Whereas,for a smaller droplet,the oxygen concentration remains uniform and hence cathodic activity is not controlled by droplet geometry.The geometry of condensed droplets varies dynamically with changing environmental parameters,influencing corrosion mechanisms as the droplets evolve in size.In this review,various modelling approaches used to simulate the corrosion under droplet electrolytes are presented.In the efforts of developing a comprehensive model to estimate corrosion rates,it has been noted from this review that the influence of geometric evolution of the droplet due to condensation/evaporation processes on corrosion mechanisms are yet to be modelled.Dynamically varying external factors like environmental temperature,relative humidity,presence of hygroscopic salts and pollutants influence the evolution of droplet electrolyte,making it a complex phenomenon to investigate.Therefore,an overview of available dropwise condensation and evaporation models which describes the formation and the evolution of droplet geometry are also presented from an atmo s pheric corrosion viewpoint.     

Simple colloidal lithography approach to generate inexpensive stamps for polymer nano-patterning

In this work we propose a simple method, based on colloidal crystal monolayer templating, to obtain good quality stamps for polymer patterning. By metal evaporation over colloidal monolayers we fabricate (i) metal-coated colloidal crystals, and (ii) arrays of triangular nanoparticles on glass substrate, obtained by subsequently removing the colloids. The applicability of these two types of nanostructured surfaces as lithographic stamps is demonstrated by transferring their patterns onto polyvinyl alcohol polymer surfaces. The morphology of the resulting polymer nanostructures is analyzed by atomic force microscopy. The proposed nanolithographic technique is remarkable for its simplicity, decreased cost of stamp fabrication, and high resolution of achievable nanopatterns.     

Demonstration of droplet size and vaporization rate measurements in the near field of a two-phase jet with droplet lasing spectroscopy

Droplet lasing spectroscopy has been applied to the measurement of droplet size and evaporation rate in a spray. A single droplet, doped with laser dye, was injected along the centerline of a liquid spray. Filters were used to block the strong elastic-scattering signal. The lasing emission from the doped droplet could be detected against the background with mass loadings of liquid in the spray as high as 20%. An analysis of the spectrum of droplet lasing was used to evaluate the droplet diameter. The evaporation rate of the droplet was obtained from consecutive lasing spectra that were obtained from the same droplet. An error analysis of the drop size and drop evaporation measurements was carried out and showed that accurate measurements of evaporation rates were feasible.     

Friction and Wetting Transitions of Magnetic Droplets on Micropillared Superhydrophobic Surfaces

Reliable characterization of wetting properties is essential for the development and optimization of superhydrophobic surfaces. Here, the dynamics of superhydrophobicity is studied including droplet friction and wetting transitions by using droplet oscillations on micropillared surfaces. Analyzing droplet oscillations by high‐speed camera makes it possible to obtain energy dissipation parameters such as contact angle hysteresis force and viscous damping coefficients, which indicate pinning and viscous losses, respectively. It is shown that the dissipative forces increase with increasing solid fraction and magnetic force. For 10 µm diameter pillars, the solid fraction range within which droplet oscillations are possible is between 0.97% and 2.18%. Beyond the upper limit, the oscillations become heavily damped due to high friction force. Below the lower limit, the droplet is no longer supported by the pillar tops and undergoes a Cassie–Wenzel transition. This transition is found to occur at lower pressure for a moving droplet than for a static droplet. The findings can help to optimize micropillared surfaces for low‐friction droplet transport.