Post impact droplet hydrodynamics on inclined planes of variant wettabilities

Abstract

Experimental investigations were carried out to elucidate the roles of surface wettability and inclination on the post-impact dynamics of droplets. The maximum spreading diameter and spreading time were found to decrease with increasing inclination angle and normal Weber number (We ) for superhydrophobic (SH) surfaces. The experiments on SH surfaces were found to be in excellent agreement with an existing analytical model, albeit with the incorporation of modifications for the oblique impact conditions. The energy ratios and elongation factors were also determined for different inclination angles. On inclined SH surfaces, different features like arrest of secondary droplet formation, reduced pinch-off at the contact line and inclination dependent elongation behavior were observed. On the contrary, the hydrophilic surfaces show opposite trends of maximum spreading factor and spreading time with inclination angle and We, respectively. This is caused by the dominance of tangential kinetic energy over adhesion energy and gravitational potential at higher inclination angles. Further, the influence of the surface tension (using surfactant solutions, without significantly changing the viscosity) and viscosity (using colloids, without significantly changing the surface tension) for impact on SH and hydrophilic surfaces are probed. The exercise allows better insight on the exact hydrodynamic mechanisms at play during the impact events. Overall, the article provides a comprehensive picture of post-impact dynamics of droplets on inclined surfaces, encompassing a broad spectrum of governing parameters like Reynolds number (Re), Weber number (We), degree of inclination and surface wettability.