Self-propelled rotation of paper-based Leidenfrost rotor

Abstract

When a liquid droplet is placed on a sufficiently hot surface, it will be levitated by the vapor cushion between the droplet and the hot surface due to the Leidenfrost effect. Such Leidenfrost-based levitation can greatly reduce friction and thus offers a promising approach for low-friction devices. In this work, we demonstrated a self-propelled rotational Leidenfrost rotor made of wet paper with asymmetric mass distribution. The rotor has shown the capability of reaching angular velocities of more than 30 rad/s and prolonged the rotation duration through refueling with water. We experimentally investigated the influence of mass repartition and substrate heating temperature on the rotation behavior of the rotor. It was found that both the initial acceleration and the maximum angular velocity increase with the increasing mass ratio of the connector over the evaporator within the rotor and the substrate heating temperature. A theoretical model was proposed to simulate the trend, and the simulated results are in good agreement with the experimental results. The paper-based Leidenfrost rotor provides an alternative way to utilize the Leidenfrost effect for exploring self-propelled movement and relevant applications such as surface cleaning and rotary heat engines.