title: Increased stability and size of a bubble on a superhydrophobic surface.
abstract: Computational and theoretical models of millimeter-sized bubbles placed on upright hydrophobic and superhydrophobic surfaces are compared with experimental data here. Although the experimental data for a hydrophobic surface corroborated the computational and theoretical data, the case of a superhydrophobic surface showed the bubbles to be able to contain significantly larger volumes than predicted. This is attributed to the greater ability of the bubble contact line to advance compared with its tendency to detach from the surface because of buoyancy. We surmise that a static model therefore describes only an unstable equilibrium for these bubbles, which unless heavily isolated from external influences are more likely to assume a larger stable size.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Optics, Acoustics, and Mechanics, Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Monash University, Clayton VIC3800, Australia.
authors.forename: William Yeong Liang
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Ling
authors.forename: Gabriel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.forename: Tuck Wah
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Ng