Numerical investigation of vibration-induced droplet shedding on microstructured superhydrophobic surfaces

Abstract

The vibration-induced droplet shedding mechanism on microstructured superhydrophobic surfaces was simulated using the lattice Boltzmann method. The numerical simulations of natural droplet oscillations for various surface structures show that the natural frequency of the droplet is strongly dependent on surface morphology. The results show good agreement with basic theoretical values. Furthermore, simulations of the motion of the droplet subjected to vertical surface vibration demonstrate that droplets in the Cassie wetting state are easily removed from the surface, whereas for Wenzel state droplets, pinch-off occurs and only partial removal is possible. Microstructure spacing was found to be a key factor in the shedding process. On a surface with small microstructure spacing, the increased surface adhesion leads to a decrease of droplet departure velocity. In contrast, for large roughness spacing, the droplet is impaled on the microstructures, which causes the departure velocity to decrease. Reperforming the simulations under different vibration intensities reveals that as the vibration amplitude is increased, the optimum frequency for droplet removal decreases. The findings of this study shed light on the underlying mechanisms involved in forced vibrations of droplets and can be helpful in engineering applications in which droplet shedding processes are critical.