title: In situ, noninvasive characterization of superhydrophobic coatings.
abstract: Light scattering was used to measure the time-dependent loss of air entrapped within a submerged microporous hydrophobic surface subjected to different environmental conditions. The loss of trapped air resulted in a measurable decrease in surface reflectivity and the kinetics of the process was determined in real time and compared to surface properties, such as porosity and morphology. The light-scattering results were compared with measurements of skin-friction drag, static contact angle, and contact-angle hysteresis. The in situ, noninvasive optical technique was shown to correlate well with the more conventional methods for quantifying surface hydrophobicity, such as flow slip and contact angle.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia 23284-3015, USA.
authors.forename: Mohamed A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Samaha
authors.forename: Fredrick O
authors.initials: FO
authors.lastname: Ochanda
authors.forename: Hooman Vahedi
authors.initials: HV
authors.lastname: Tafreshi
authors.forename: Gary C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Tepper
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gad-el-Hak