Aerodynamic repellency of impacting liquids

Anaïs Gauthier (1) , Ambre Bouillant , Christophe Clanet (2) , David Quéré (1)

1 PMMH - Physique et mécanique des milieux hétérogenes (UMR 7636)
2 LadHyX - Laboratoire d'hydrodynamique

Impacting liquids can be reflected by moving solid plates, provided the surface is fast enough. We describe and model here the threshold speed of bouncing, in particular as a function of the impact velocity of the incoming liquid. We also demonstrate that the aerodynamic force responsible for the nonwetting behavior induces an oblique rebound, which contributes to the liquid removal. In summary, this situation repels viscous, low surface tension drops of any size, all kinds of cases where repellency is impossible to achieve by other means.

Domaines: Sciences de l'ingénieur [physics]; Milieux fluides et réactifs

Anaïs Gauthier, Ambre Bouillant, Christophe Clanet, David Quéré. Aerodynamic repellency of impacting liquids. Physical Review Fluids, 2018, 3 (5), ⟨10.1103/PhysRevFluids.3.054002⟩. ⟨hal-02356907⟩