Abstract
Fiber-based coalescers are widely used to accumulate droplets from aerosols and emulsions, where the accumulated droplets are typically removed by gravity or shear. This Letter reports self-propelled removal of drops from a hydrophobic fiber, where the surface energy released upon drop coalescence overcomes the drop-fiber adhesion, producing spontaneous departure that would not occur on a flat substrate of the same contact angle. The self-removal takes place above a threshold drop-to-fiber radius ratio, and the departure speed is close to the capillary-inertial velocity at large radius ratios.
- Received 30 November 2014
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.115.074502
© 2015 American Physical Society
Focus
Self-Removing Droplets
Published 14 August 2015
Liquid droplets that gather on a fine, water-repelling fiber kick themselves off the fiber as they coalesce.
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