Communications: Wall free capillarity and pendant drop removal.
When a sessile drop encounters a pendant drop through a hole, it is generally anticipated that they will coalesce and flow downward due to gravity. However, like "wall-free" capillarity, we show that the pendant drop may be sucked up by a sliding drop instantaneously if the radius of the curvature of the former is smaller than that of the later. This phenomenon can be explained by Laplace-Young equation and convective Ostwald ripening. Our results indicate that superhydrophilic perforated surface can be used as an effective way for the removal of small droplets adhering to the inner walls of microchannel systems.
Hong
Siang-Jie
SJ
Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, National Central University, Jhongli, Taiwan 320, Republic of China.
Chang
Feng-Ming
FM
Chan
Seong Heng
SH
Sheng
Yu-Jane
YJ
Tsao
Heng-Kwong
HK