Dynamic Impact Behavior of Water Droplet on a Superhydrophobic Surface in the Presence of Stagnation Flow

Abstract

The following study investigates splashing of impinging water droplets on superhydrophobic surfaces with and without the presence of a stagnation flow. Droplets were accelerated by either gravity or gravity and co-flow. By changing the height and the air flow velocity different combinations of stagnation flow and droplet velocity were created. The spreading diameter, spreading velocity and contact time were studied for different air and droplet speeds. It was clearly observed that for a fixed impact velocity (i.e. constant Weber number), the presence of the stagnation flow promotes splashing and formation of satellite droplets. Consequently, for the co-flow droplet impact experiments, the mass of the recoiled droplet is significantly smaller than that of the impinging droplet in still air.