Lattice Boltzmann simulation of droplets accelerate shedding on an inverted triangular surface with wettability gradient

Abstract

The droplet combining and shedding on a gradient-wetting inverted triangle surface is investigated using the lattice Boltzmann method based on the Shan-Chen pseudo-potential model. The impacts of the tip angle, wetting gradient, and Bond number are investigated. The study shows that the smaller the tip angle, the better for the droplets to merge and shed. The droplet combining and shedding process can be sped up by the triangular surface’s wetting gradient. As the wetting gradient increases, the droplet combining and shedding becomes easier. Applying a wetting gradient to speed drainage is better when the original surface is more hydrophilic. The combination and shedding of droplets on the wet surface are significantly influenced by the Bond number as well.

Keywords:

• Droplet motion
• inverted triangle surface
• lattice Boltzmann method
• shedding
• wetting gradient

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China through Grant No. 51976127.