Drag reduction effect of ultraviolet laser-fabricated superhydrophobic surface

Abstract

Superhydrophobic (SH) surface has been found effective for drag reduction in wall-bounded turbulence for decades, especially the metallic durable SH surfaces are believed very promising for improving the velocity and voyage of marine vehicles. We present stainless steel SH surfaces with U-groove patterns that fabricated by ultraviolet laser texturing and coating modifier treatment. The drag-reducing effects of the SH surfaces are tested by a self-built gravity sliding speed improving evaluation device. The results show that the different drag-reduction performance of the SH surfaces can be achieved by adjusting the line spacing of the crossing U-groove patterns. With the line spacing equalling to 80 μm, the ultraviolet laser textured stainless steel SH surface acquires the static contact angle of 161.5° and the dynamic sliding angle of only 2°, which leads to the maximum speed improving rate of 29.7%.