Homogeneous Surface Roughness Research Articles

Copper Sulfide Nanorod-Embedded Urinary Catheter with Hydrophobicity and Photothermal Sterilization.

The high prevalence of catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) is causing significant concern in healthcare systems. Antibacterial urinary catheters have been developed to prevent CAUTIs in clinical application. In this work, a copper sulfide nanorod (CuS NR)-embedded urinary catheter (CuS/UC) was designed as an antibacterial urinary catheter with photothermal sterilization. The CuS NRs with low cytotoxicity were synthesized via the hydrothermal method. The CuS NRs were embedded into urinary catheters at different weight percentages. The CuS/UC exhibited homogenous surface roughness, low wettability, hydrophobicity, and low adhesiveness, promoting minimal interaction with bacteria and healthy cells. Under near-infrared (NIR) laser irradiation, the 0.8 weight percentage of CuS NRs in the urinary catheter (0.8CuS/UC) reached a temperature of 67.4 °C, demonstrating its photothermal antibacterial activity and suitability for catheter sterilization. Agar plate test verified that CuS/UCs exhibited a superior photothermal antibacterial activity against both Gram-negative Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Gram-positive Streptococcus aureus (S. aureus). Moreover, the 0.8CuS/UC exhibited excellent biocompatibility and anti-cell adhesion properties. The 0.8CuS/UC with photothermal performance, excellent biocompatibility, and anti-cell adhesion properties demonstrated its potential as a photothermal antibacterial catheter for clinical applications.

Energy Dissipation during Wenzel Wetting via Roughness Scale Interface Dynamics.

A numerical method is proposed to simulate the roughness scale interface dynamics of a slow-moving fluid interface as it advances over a chemically homogeneous rough surface. Analysis of the governing augmented Navier-Stokes and Young's boundary condition equations shows how the local interface behavior can be represented via a series of incrementally advanced equilibrium interfacial morphologies. Combined with a roughness scale mechanical energy balance [Harvie, D. J. E. Contact-angle hysteresis on rough surfaces: mechanical energy balance framework. J. Fluid Mech. 2024, 986, A17], the simulations are used to calculate the energy dissipation associated with a surface decorated with a periodic array of round-edge square pillars. This dissipation is used to predict static contact angle hysteresis (CAH) from knowledge of just the surface roughness topography and equilibrium contact angle. We show that the energy dissipated varies approximately as ϕln ϕ (with ϕ being the area fraction), becoming zero as ϕ → 0. The CAH predicted by our method is in good agreement with the experimental results of Forsberg et al. [Forsberg, P. S.; Priest, C.; Brinkmann, M.; Sedev, R.; Ralston, J. Contact line pinning on microstructured surfaces for liquids in the Wenzel state. Langmuir 2010, 26, 860-865], thereby demonstrating that our numerical method of simulating interfacial dynamics adequately captures the real interface motion, as well as illustrating how far-field contact angle and energy dissipation approaches are consistent for this surface. We also compute CAH for an interface moving at 45° to the surface periodicity direction to show that the experimental measurements are bracketed by the 0° and 45° advance direction results. The proposed method opens up the field to quantitative analysis, surface functionalization, and design for different specific applications.

Direct Numerical Simulation of Transitional and Turbulent Flows Over Multi-Scale Surface Roughness—Part I: Methodology and Challenges

Abstract High-fidelity simulation of transitional and turbulent flows over multi-scale surface roughness presents several challenges. For instance, the complex and irregular geometrical nature of surface roughness makes it impractical to employ conforming structured grids, commonly adopted in large-scale numerical simulations due to their high computational efficiency. One possible solution to overcome this problem is offered by immersed boundary methods, which allow wall boundary conditions to be enforced on grids that do not conform to the geometry of the solid boundary. To this end, a three-dimensional, second-order accurate boundary data immersion method (BDIM) is adopted. A novel mapping algorithm that can be applied to general three-dimensional surfaces is presented, together with a newly developed data-capturing methodology to extract and analyze on-surface flow quantities of interest. A rigorous procedure to compute gradient quantities such as the wall shear stress and the heat flux on complex non-conforming geometries is also introduced. The new framework is validated by performing a direct numerical simulation (DNS) of fully developed turbulent channel flow over sinusoidal egg-carton roughness in a minimal-span domain. For this canonical case, the averaged streamwise velocity profiles are compared against results from the literature obtained with a body-fitted grid. General guidelines on the BDIM resolution requirements for multi-scale roughness simulation are given. Momentum and energy balance methods are used to validate the calculation of the overall skin friction and heat transfer at the wall. The BDIM is then employed to investigate the effect of irregular homogeneous surface roughness on the performance of an LS-89 high-pressure turbine blade at engine-relevant conditions using DNS. This is the first application of the BDIM to realize multi-scale roughness for transitional flow in transonic conditions in the context of high-pressure turbines. The methodology adopted to generate the desired roughness distribution and to apply it to the reference blade geometry is introduced. The results are compared to the case of an equivalent smooth blade.

Hybrid Polyurethane/Polypyrrole Composite Coatings on Passivated 316L SS for Surface Protective Action against Corrosion in Saline Medium

Hybrid treatments consisting of surface modification and subsequent protective coatings have gained extensive attention among corrosion mitigation approaches for a wide variety of structural metallic materials. This study aims to review the enhancement of the corrosion protection performance of polyurethane (PU) coatings on 316L stainless steel (SS) specimens. This was achieved via a two-step strategic treatment, primarily by electrochemical passivation and subsequent deposition of PU composite coatings with the different feed ratio of synthesized polypyrrole (PPy) nanoparticles. The effect of different applied voltage on the surface features and the corrosion behavior of the passivated SS surfaces was systematically investigated using surface characterization techniques and a potentiodynamic polarization test in a NaCl solution. Surface morphological images revealed the porous structure on the passivated surface. It is inferred from the topographical surface results that homogeneous surface roughness was achieved with the applied voltage of 5 V. Infra-red spectroscopic results validate the formation of PU/PPy composite coatings and the intermolecular chemical interaction between the PU and PPy moieties. Furthermore, corrosion measurements corroborate the improved corrosion resistance of PU/30PPy coatings with higher values of charge transfer resistance, Rct (1.0869 × 107 Ω cm2), and film resistance, Rf (2.258 × 105 Ω cm2), with the lowest values of corrosion, icorr (4.7 × 10−3 µA cm−2) compared to that of the PU/Bare specimen. In conclusion, it is confirmed that the passivated surface enhances the corrosion resistance performance of PU coated SS, and this performance is further increased with the incorporation of PPy particles.

Simulation of turbulent flow over roughness strips

Heterogeneous roughness in the form of streamwise aligned strips is known to generate large scale secondary motions under turbulent flow conditions that can induce the intriguing feature of larger flow rates above rough than smooth surface parts. The hydrodynamical definition of a surface roughness includes a large scale separation between the roughness height and the boundary layer thickness which is directly related to the fact that the drag of a laminar flow is not altered by the presence of roughness. Existing simplified approaches for direct numerical simulation of roughness strips do not fulfil this requirement of an unmodified laminar base flow compared with a smooth wall reference. It is shown that disturbances induced in a modified laminar base flow can trigger large-scale motions with resemblance to turbulent secondary flow. We propose a simple roughness model that allows us to capture the particular features of turbulent secondary flow without impacting the laminar base flow. The roughness model is based on the prescription of a spanwise slip length, a quantity that can directly be translated into the Hama roughness function for a homogeneous rough surface. The heterogeneous application of the slip-length boundary condition results in very good agreement with existing experimental data in terms of the secondary flow topology. In addition, the proposed modelling approach allows us to quantitatively evaluate the drag increasing contribution of the secondary flow. Both the secondary flow itself and the related drag increase reveal a very small dependence on the gradient of the transition between rough and smooth surface parts only. Interestingly, the observed drag increase due to secondary flows above the modelled roughness is significantly smaller than the one previously reported for roughness resolving simulations. We hypothesise that this difference arises from the fact that roughness resolving simulations cannot truly fulfil the requirement of large scale separation.

Data transfer analysis of the homogeneous rough surface of a solid model into a CAE system with varying file data formats

Data transfer analysis of the homogeneous rough surface of a solid model into a CAE system with varying file data formats

In Situ Micro-Observation of Surface Roughness and Fracture Mechanism in Metal Microforming of Thin Copper Sheets with Newly Developed Compact Testing Apparatus.

A better understanding of material deformation behaviours with changes in size is crucial to the design and operation of metal microforming processes. In order to facilitate the investigation of size effects, material deformation behaviours needed to be determined directly from material characterizations. This study was aimed at the design and manufacture of a compact universal testing machine (UTM) compatible with a 3D laser-confocal microscope to observe the deformation behaviour of materials in real-time. In this study, uniaxial micro tensile testing was conducted on three different thin (0.05 mm, 0.1 mm, and 0.3 mm) copper specimens with characteristic dimensions at micro scales. Micro tensile experimental runs were carried out on copper specimens with varying grain sizes on the newly developed apparatus under a 3D laser-confocal microscope. Microscale experiments under 3D laser-confocal microscope provided not only a method to observe the microstructure of materials, but also a novel way to observe the early stages of fracture mechanisms. From real-time examination using the newly developed compact testing apparatus, we discovered that fracture behaviour was mostly brought about by the concave surface formed by free surface roughening. Findings with high stability were discovered while moving with the sample grasped along the drive screw in the graphical plot of a crosshead’s displacement against time. Our results also showed very low mechanical noise (detected during the displacement of the crosshead), which indicated that there were no additional effects on the machine, such as vibrations or shifts in speed that could influence performance. The engineering stress-strain plots of the pure copper-tests with various thicknesses or samples depicted a level of stress necessary to initiate plastic flowing inside the material. From these results, we observed that strength and ductility declined with decreasing thickness. The influence of thickness on fracture-strain, observed during tensile testing, made it clear that the elongation-at-break of the pure-copper foils intensely decreased with decreases in thickness. The relative average surface-roughness Ra was evaluated, which showed us that the surface-roughness escalated with the increasing trend of plasticity deformation (plastic strain) ε. For better understanding of the effects of plastic strain on surface roughness prior to material fractures, micro tensile tests were performed on the newly developed machine under a 3D laser-confocal-microscope. We observed that homogeneous surface roughness was caused by plastic strain, which further formed the concave surface that led to the fracture points. Finally, we concluded that surface roughness was one of the crucial factors influencing the fracture behaviour of metallic sheet-strips in metal microforming. We found that this type of testing apparatus could be designed and manufactured within a manageable budget.

Ridge-type roughness: from turbulent channel flow to internal combustion engine

While existing engineering tools enable us to predict how homogeneous surface roughness alters drag and heat transfer of near-wall turbulent flows to a certain extent, these tools cannot be reliably applied for heterogeneous rough surfaces. Nevertheless, heterogeneous roughness is a key feature of many applications. In the present work we focus on spanwise heterogeneous roughness, which is known to introduce large-scale secondary motions that can strongly alter the near-wall turbulent flow. While these secondary motions are mostly investigated in canonical turbulent shear flows, we show that ridge-type roughness—one of the two widely investigated types of spanwise heterogeneous roughness—also induces secondary motions in the turbulent flow inside a combustion engine. This indicates that large scale secondary motions can also be found in technical flows, which neither represent classical turbulent equilibrium boundary layers nor are in a statistically steady state. In addition, as the first step towards improved drag predictions for heterogeneous rough surfaces, the Reynolds number dependency of the friction factor for ridge-type roughness is presented.Graphic abstract

The Influence of Slopes of Isolated Three-Dimensional Valleys on Near-Surface Turbulence

Motivated by a limited understanding of how valleys affect near-surface turbulence, characterizations of neutrally stable atmospheric-boundary-layer flows over isolated valleys are presented. In particular, the influence of the slopes of the three-dimensional ridges that form the idealized valleys are investigated. Flows over three distinct symmetric valley geometries were modelled in a large boundary-layer wind tunnel. For each valley geometry, the high-resolution measurements from the crests of each of the ridges and the midpoint between them are compared with an undisturbed moderately rough classed boundary-layer flow over flat terrain with homogeneous surface roughness. Flow separation originates above the crests of the first ridges of all geometries and generates recirculation zones. These are characterized by slope-dependent increases in three-dimensional near-surface turbulence when compared with the attached flows further upstream. The recirculation zones longitudinally extend to roughly half the valley width. Above the crests of the second ridges, the longitudinal velocity component decreases and turbulence intensity increases when compared with the flows above the crests of the first ridges. Results also exhibit significant increases of turbulence above the inner-valley regions of all geometries.

Effect of Er:YAG laser irradiation on deciduous enamel roughness and bacterial adhesion: An in vitro study.

Laser irradiation has been proposed as a preventive method against dental caries since it is capable to inhibit enamel demineralization by reducing carbonate and modifying organic matter, yet it can produce significant morphological changes. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of Er:YAG laser irradiation on superficial roughness of deciduous dental enamel and bacterial adhesion. Fifty-four samples of deciduous enamel were divided into three groups (n = 18 each). G1_control (nonirradiated); G2_100 (7.5 J/cm2 ) and G3_100 (12.7 J/cm2 ) were irradiated with Er:YAG laser at 7.5 and 12.7 J/cm2 , respectively, under water irrigation. Surface roughness was measured before and after irradiation using a profilometer. Afterwards, six samples per group were used to measure bacterial growth by XTT cell viability assay. Adhered bacteria were observed using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and a scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Paired t-, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Kruskal-Wallis and pairwise Mann-Whitney U tests were performed to analyze statistical differences (p < .05). Before treatment, samples showed homogenous surface roughness, and after Er:YAG laser irradiation, the surfaces showed a significant increase in roughness values (p < .05). G3_100 (12.7 J/cm2 ) showed the highest amount of Streptococcus mutans adhered (p < .05). The increase in the roughness of the tooth enamel surfaces was proportional to the energy density used; the increase in surface roughness caused by laser irradiation did not augment the adhesion of Streptococcus sanguinis; only the use of the energy density of 12.7 J/cm2 favored significantly the adhesion of S. mutans.

Improved suitability as catalyst support and more efficient charge carrier separation of native air-formed TiO2 films by mild laser treatment

The possibility of using native air-formed TiO2 films (N–TiO2) as substrate for platinum deposition and the extent to which the effectiveness of such Pt/TiO2 systems can be improved by a mild laser treatment of the TiO2 support was investigated. Laser-treated titania (LT-TiO2) exhibited homogeneous rough surface and allowed much efficient separation of photogenerated charge carriers. Both N–TiO2 and LT-TiO2 were used as substrates for platinum electrochemical deposition and it was found that the use of the latter enables more uniform distribution and much lower average size of the Pt particles, leading to an enhancement of the electrochemically active specific surface area of ca. 75%. Moreover, the use of a laser-treated titania substrate not only facilitates methanol anodic oxidation overall process but also improves the resistance of the electrocatalyst to deactivation by strong adsorption of intermediates. Upon UV irradiation, Pt/LT-TiO2 electrodes exhibit a strong enhancement of the methanol oxidation current and, importantly, a much better resistance to poisoning.

A universal wind profile for the inversion‐capped neutral atmospheric boundary layer

Wind profiles above the atmospheric surface layer are not accurately described by classic similarity theories. Far from the surface, the underlying assumptions of such surface‐layer theories break down due to the stronger influence of buoyancy forces induced by the temperature inversion that caps the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), as well as the Coriolis force. This paper examines the influence of these forces on the mean flow and presents a new similarity theory to predict mean wind profiles in and above the surface layer for an ABL with zero surface heat flux and capped by an inversion of potential temperature, that is, the conditionally neutral ABL. The analysis here is based on the results of 17 large‐eddy simulations (LES) over a flat homogeneous rough surface, which leads to and supports the new similarity theory. The development is based on two applications of the Buckingham Π theorem. A first application allows determination of the entrainment‐induced heat flux profile through the ABL and into the surface layer, which is then used within a second dimensional argument for the vertical shear of mean wind speed. We subsequently find a new dimensionless group (Π2) depending on the capping inversion strength, the Coriolis parameter, the surface stress and the ABL depth, which is correlated to the dimensionless shear (Π1) through a universal function β. Integrating the functional relation between Π1 and Π2 produces an equation for the mean wind speed profile; it effectively includes an additive “correction” to the log‐law in terms of Π2, analogous to the Monin–Obukhov profile correction function. Unlike surface‐layer similarity, the new form accounts for the influences of both the surface and the ABL top. Relative to the LES, the new profile form exhibits errors in mean wind speed below 5% for heights below 90% of the ABL depth; this is relevant for applications above the surface layer (e.g., wind energy).

Universal mathematical model of SAR signals for natural surfaces

The implementation of the basic version of the universal mathematical model of the formation of reflected signals for various airborne radar systems, including the synthetic antenna aperture radar, when working on natural surfaces are discussed in the article. A number of parameters are required to study, which must be taken into account for the correct modeling of echo signals, which must then be processed to calculate radar images. A method for constructing such a mathematical model in MATLAB is presented with some modeling results for a homogeneous rough surface and two typical pulse and continuous modulation signals. But the facet parameter structure of the simulated surface can take into account the possibilities of representing various types of terrain and objects created by man.

Study of the Neutral Ekman Flow Using an Algebraic Reynolds Stress Model

A recently developed fully explicit algebraic model of Reynolds stress and turbulent heat flux in a thermally stratified planetary atmospheric boundary layer without stratification has been used for a numerical study of the Ekman turbulent boundary layer over a homogeneous rough surface for different dimensionless surface Rossby numbers. A comparative analysis has been conducted for a closure model of the transport term in the prognostic equation of turbulent kinetic energy dissipation including third-order moments. Dependences of the total wind rotation angle on the Rossby number have been obtained. The calculated vertical profiles of mean velocity, turbulent stress, turbulent kinetic energy, surface-friction velocity, and boundary-layer height agree satisfactorily with observational and earlier obtained LES data.

Size-dependent modification of asteroid family Yarkovsky V-shapes

Context.The thermal properties of the surfaces of asteroids determine the magnitude of the drift rate cause by the Yarkovsky force. In the general case of Main Belt asteroids, the Yarkovsky force is indirectly proportional to the thermal inertia, Γ.Aims.Following the proposed relationship between Γ and asteroid diameterD, we find that asteroids’ Yarkovsky drift rates might have a more complex size dependence than previous thought, leading to a curved familyV-shape boundary in semi-major axis, a, vs. 1/Dspace. This implies that asteroids are drifting faster at larger sizes than previously considered decreasing on average the known ages of asteroid families.Methods.The V-Shape curvature is determined for &gt;25 families located throughout the Main Belt to quantify the Yarkovsky size-dependent drift rate.Results.We find that there is no correlation between family age andV-shape curvature. In addition, theV-shape curvature decreases for asteroid families with larger heliocentric distances suggesting that the relationship between Γ andDis weaker in the outer MB possibly due to homogenous surface roughness among family members.

An explicit algebraic model of the planetary boundary layer turbulence: test computation of the neutrally stratified atmospheric boundary layer

An explicit algebraic model of Reynolds stresses and the turbulent heat flux vector for the planetary boundary layer in a neutrally stratified boundary layer of the atmosphere above a homogeneous rough surface is tested. The version of the algebraic model under consideration is constructed on the physical principles of the RANS (Reynolds-averaged Navier−Stokes) approximation for describing stratified turbulence, it employs three forecasting equations, and a correct reproduction of the main characteristics of a neutral atmospheric boundary layer — the components of the mean wind velocity, the wind turn angle, and the turbulent statistics is shown. Test computations show that the proposed model may be used for goal-oriented investigations of the atmospheric boundary layer.

Capillary electrophoresis in a fused-silica capillary with surface roughness gradient.

The electro-osmotic flow, a significant factor in capillary electrophoretic separations, is very sensitive to small changes in structure and surface roughness of the inner surface of fused silica capillary. Besides a number of negative effects, the electro-osmotic flow can also have a positive effect on the separation. An example could be fused silica capillaries with homogenous surface roughness along their entire separation length as produced by etching with supercritical water. Different strains of methicillin-resistant and methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus were separated on that type of capillaries. In the present study, fused-silica capillaries with a gradient of surface roughness were prepared and their basic behavior was studied in capillary zone electrophoresis with UV-visible detection. First the influence of the electro-osmotic flow on the peak shape of a marker of electro-osmotic flow, thiourea, has been discussed. An antifungal agent, hydrophobic amphotericin B, and a protein marker, albumin, have been used as model analytes. A significant narrowing of the detected zones of the examined analytes was achieved in supercritical-water-treated capillaries as compared to the electrophoretic separation in smooth capillaries. Minimum detectable amounts of 5 ng/mL amphotericin B and 5 μg/mL albumin were reached with this method.

Polarimetric Simulations of SAR at L-Band Over Bare Soil Using Scattering Matrices of Random Rough Surfaces From Numerical Three-Dimensional Solutions of Maxwell Equations

We have performed simulations of random rough surface scattering using 3-D numerical solution of Maxwell equations (NMM3D) using surface size up to 32 $\times$ 32 squared wavelengths. The rough surfaces are characterized by exponential correlation functions. The simulation results of cross- and copolarization backscattering coefficients were in good agreement with experimental measurements of bare soils at L-band. Because in numerical solutions of Maxwell equations the electric fields of the scattered wave are calculated for each realization, scattering matrices can be simulated by NMM3D, and such simulations are performed in this paper. For a given RMS height, correlation length, soil permittivity, and incident angle, we calculated the radar scattering matrix up to 958 independent realizations. For each realization, the components of the scattering matrix, namely, $S_{\rm HH}$ , $S_{\rm VV}$ , $S_{\rm HV}$ , and $S_{\rm VH}$ , are calculated. Using the simulated scattering matrices, we calculate the polarimetric speckle statistics (amplitude and phase difference), followed by a comparison with theoretical distributions. For fully developed speckle from the homogeneous rough surface, the results are examined and validated to ensure the simulated data quality as far as polarimetric properties are concerned. By taking ensemble averages, we calculate the coherency matrix from which the eigenvalues, entropy, anisotropy, and alpha angle in coherent target decomposition are then calculated. In particular, characterization of polarimetric descriptors for rough surface is presented. Issues of scattering symmetry characteristics are also discussed.

Physical and bioactive properties of multi-layered PCL/silica composite scaffolds for bone tissue regeneration

Abstract The characteristic properties of nanosized silica, such as its high biocompatibility and hydrophilic property, have made it a potential component of materials for tissue engineering. However, the low processability and poor mechanical properties of silica have been obstacles to its use as a tissue regenerative material. In this study, composite scaffolds consisting of poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL) and silica, fabricated by a melt-plotting/coating process, were assessed as a potential scaffold for bone tissue regeneration. The composite scaffolds were evaluated in terms not only of their physical properties (wetting/water absorption, surface roughness, and tensile properties), but also their biological properties (cell viability, ALP activity, and calcium deposition) by culturing pre-osteoblasts (MC3T3-E1) on various composites coated with various silica solutions (1.5, 3.7, 6.6 wt%). Using a simple coating process, the composite scaffolds showed homogeneous surface roughness ( R a = 8–11 nm) and highly improved wetting/water absorption (∼2.8-fold) without any mechanical loss compared with the pure PCL scaffold. The results of cell-seeding efficiency (∼1.8-fold), cell viability (∼5-fold at 7 days) and proliferation, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity (∼1.7-fold), and mineralisation (∼1.5-fold) analyses showed that although only a small proportion of coating agent (silica) was used, the in vitro cellular activities were improved significantly.

Spreading of a non-Newtonian liquid drop over a homogeneous rough surface

The spreading of a non-Newtonian liquid drop over a homogeneous rough surface is theoretically analyzed in the case of complete wetting. Using the energy approach, a relation is derived among the surface roughness, spreading rate of the drop and the contact angle. It is shown that non-Newtonian liquid drop spreads faster over rough surface than smooth surface. Further, it is observed that a shear thickening liquid (n>1) spreads with faster speed than a shear thinning liquid (n<1) over a rough surface.