The effect of contact angle hysteresis on droplet coalescence and mixing

Abstract

In this work, droplet coalescence and the subsequent mixing in superhydrophobic surfaces is studied over a range of impact velocities and impact angles. Sanded Teflon surfaces are used as a novel two-dimensional microfluidics platform. These superhydrophobic surfaces exhibit a constant advancing contact angle of θA=150° over a broad range of contact angle hysteresis. As a result, the effect of contact angle hysteresis on droplet coalescence and mixing can be studied. Based on the observed characteristics of coalescence, three different regimes of coalescence are identified as a function of both Weber number and impact angle. These regimes include oscillation dominated, rotation dominated, and mixed dynamics. It is shown that within Weber number ranges achievable in this experiment, hysteresis greatly reduces the deformation of the droplet coalescence process and the subsequent mixing. In head-on collisions, higher hysteresis is found to decrease the frequency at which the resulting dr oscillates. In the case of glancing collisions, where the resulting droplet is found to rotate, higher hysteresis increases the rate of rotation although the overall angular momentum is found to be independent of contact angle hysteresis.