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Drop impact on a surface has an effect on nearly every industry and this impact may have adverse effects if not controlled. Superhydrophobic (SH) surfaces have been created with the extreme ability to repel water. These surfaces exist in nature but may also be fabricated using modern techniques. This thesis explores heat transfer from these SH surfaces to drops impacting them. This thesis is devoted to increasing the breadth of knowledge of thermal atomization during drop impingement on superheated SH surfaces. When a water drop impinges vertically on a horizontal superheated surface, intense atomization can occur. The atomization is caused by rapid vapor generation at the surface and the corresponding formation and collapse of vapor bubble cavities. This thesis is divided into two main works, experimental quantification of thermal atomization and analytical prediction of vapor generation. An experimental exploration, comprising chapter 3 contains experimental work done on drop impingement on nanostructured surfaces. of this thesis, presents results of experiments meant to quantify the amount of thermal atomization during drop impingement on superheated superhydrophobic surfaces. Effects of time, surface temperature, and surface geometry are investigated. Superhydrophobic surface geometries explored in this work included post, rib, and carbon nanotube (CNT) structures. Each surface is characterized by its temperature jump length. It is shown that, in general, atomization intensity decreases with increasing temperature jump length. It is also shown that atomization is completely suppressed on surfaces with nanoscale surface features and high cavity fraction (e.g. CNT structures). This work also relates the effect of temperature jump length on the maximum atomization temperature and the maximum atomization time. Both quantities show a systematic relationship with temperature jump length. The analytical portion, comprising chapter 4 of this thesis, presents an analytical model used to predict the amount vapor generated during drop impingement on superheated SH surfaces. This vapor generation is then correlated to experimental values of atomization. Atomization is caused by vapor generation so their magnitudes are thought to be proportional. Two existing analytical models for drop contact area of impinging drops are combined to predict drop spread for all impact scenarios. An analytical model for heat flux is used to find heat transfer to impinging drops and mass flow rate of vapor generated from boiling.

Significant effort has been placed on the development of surfaces which reduce the amount of drag experienced by a fluid as it passes over the surface. Alterations to the fluid itself, as well as the chemical and physical composition of the surface have been investigated with varying success. Investigations into turbulent drag reduction have been mostly limited to those involving bubbles and riblets. Superhydrophobic surfaces, which combine hydrophobic surface chemistry with a regular array of microfeatures, have been shown to provide significant drag reduction in the laminar regime, with the possibility of extending these results into turbulent flows. Direct numerical simulations are used to investigate the drag reducing performance of superhydrophobic surfaces in turbulent channel flow. Slip velocities, wall shear stresses, and Reynolds stresses are considered for a variety of superhydrophobic surface microfeature geometry configurations at friction Reynolds numbers of Re = 180, Re = 395, and Re = 590. This work provides evidence that superhydrophobic surfaces are capable of reducing drag in turbulent flow situations by manipulating the laminar sublayer and turbulent energy cascade. For the largest micro-feature spacing of 90 microns an average slip velocity over 80% of the bulk velocity is obtained, and the wall shear stress reduction is found to be greater than 50%. The simulation results suggest that the mean velocity profile near the superhydrophobic wall continues to scale with the wall shear stress, but is offset by a slip velocity that increases with increasing micro-feature spacing.

Non-wetting surfaces offer enhanced capabilities over bare metal substrates for condensation with or without phase change. This trait can be utilized to broaden strategies in combating water scarcity in water stressed areas. Slippery lubricant infused surfaces have the ability to shed water droplets with lower nucleation times, taking advantage of more of the limited amount of time available to collect dew and fog than traditional surfaces. However, existing studies focus on short durations with scant information available on the longer-term performance or durability of the materials in application environments. To address this knowledge gap, dew harvesting studies were conducted over a 96 hour period on a lubricant infused surface vis-à-vis regular surface of the same material. Three phases of performance are identified and discussed with regard to the water harvesting potential. The second part of the thesis addresses water condensation under conditions where freezing is a potential issue. Non-wetting surfaces have been shown to be a promising method of limiting the formation of ice from sessile droplets. This study explores the effect of surface roughness on the freeze time of sessile water droplets. Superhydrophobic and hydrophobic, lubricant infused, copper surfaces were created via electrodeposition and chemical etching in conjunction with chemical treatments to achieve non-wetting surfaces of varying surface textures. Freezing characteristics on the surfaces are studied experimentally and, for the first time, computationally, wherein the surface is described using a fractal surface topography. The effect of surface engineering on the freezing dynamics and comparison between the experimental and the computational studies are elucidated. / Master of Science / The use of durable, water repelling surfaces that are also thermally conductive provide an opportunity to help alleviate strain from a growing world crisis, water scarcity. Lubricant infused surfaces shed water from their surface by providing a slippery layer for the droplets to slide on, as opposed to bare metal which water tends to cling to. This behavior makes lubricant infused surfaces attractive as a water harvesting method. However, these surfaces degrade over time and must be maintained to perform at their maximum capability, collecting water for 40 minutes more than a bare surface. This thesis focuses on the performance of these surfaces over a 96-hour operating period to characterize the effect lubricant drainage has on the water collection behavior. Freezing water droplets, commonly referred to as icing, poses concerns for safety and operational ability in industries like renewable energy generation, where icing limits efficiency. Non-wetting surfaces have a unique ability to inherently slow down the phase change of a water droplet to ice due to the lower contact area of droplets resting on the surface. This thesis examines superhydrophobic and lubricant infused surfaces of varying degrees of roughness to explore the effect that the contact angle and different surface structures have on the freezing rate of water on the surface. The experimental results are compared to numerical simulations, which is useful in designing systems that would implement this passive icing mitigation technique.

Due to the increase of application in a number of emerging technologies, a growing amount of research has focused on the reduction of drag in microfluidic transport. A novel approach reported in the recent literature is to fabricate micro-ribs and cavities in the channel wall that are then treated with a hydrophobic coating. Such surfaces have been termed super- or ultrahydrophobic and the contact area between the flowing liquid and the solid wall is greatly reduced. Further, due to the scale of the micropatterned structures, the liquid is unable to wet the cavity and a liquid meniscus is formed between ribs. This creates a liquid-vapor interface at the cavity regions and renders surfaces with alternating regions of no-slip and of reduced shear on the microscale. This thesis reports the numerical study of hydrodynamically fully-developed laminar and turbulent flows through a parallel plate channel with walls exhibiting micro-ribs and cavities oriented parallel to the flow direction, where fully developed turbulent flow is considered in a time-averaged sense. Three laminar flow models are implemented to investigate the liquid-vapor interface and to account for the effects of the vapor motion in the cavity regions. For each of the laminar flow models, the liquid-vapor interface was idealized as a flat interface. As a benchmark for the proceeding laminar flow models, the first model considers the case of a vanishing shear stress at the interface between the liquid and vapor domains. Effects of the vapor motion in the cavity are then accounted for in a one-dimensional cavity model where the vapor velocity is considered to be dependent on the wall normal coordinate only, followed by a two-dimensional cavity model that accounts for the vapor velocity's dependence on the transverse coordinate as well. The vapor cavity is modeled analytically and is coupled to the liquid domain by equating the fluid velocities and shear stresses at the liquid-vapor interface. In the turbulent flow model the liquid-vapor interface is idealized as a flat interface with a zero shear stress boundary condition. In general the numerical predictions show a reduction in the total frictional resistance as the cavity width is increased relative to the channel width, the channel height-to-width aspect ratio is decreased, and the vapor cavity depth is increased. The frictional resistance is also reduced with increased Reynolds number in the turbulent flow case. In the range of parameters examined for each fluid flow regime, reductions in drag as high as 91% and 90% are reported for the laminar flow and turbulent flow models, respectively. Under similar conditions however, the turbulent flow results indicate a greater reduction in flow resistance than for the laminar flow scenario. Based on an analysis of the obtained data, analytical expressions are proposed for both laminar and turbulent flow which facilitates the prediction of the frictional resistance.

There is significant interest in reducing the frictional resistance that occurs along a surface in contact with a liquid. A novel approach to reducing the frictional resistance across a liquid-solid interface is the use of superhydrophobic surfaces. superhydrophobic surfaces are created in this work by the use of micro-fabrication techniques where systematic roughness is fabricated on a substrate surface which is subsequently treated with a hydrophobic coating. This work reports an experimental study of superhydrophobic surfaces used to reduce drag in both laminar and turbulent channel flows. In the laminar flow regime reductions in frictional resistance greater than 55% were measured in microchannels consisting of superhydrophobic walls. The reduction in frictional resistance for laminar flow in microchannels with superhydrophobic walls was shown to be dependent on the rib/cavity orientation, with greater reduction achieved when the ribs/cavities were aligned parallel with the direction of the flow. Also, the ratio of the cavity width to the combined rib/cavity pitch and the ratio of the combined rib/cavity pitch to the microchannel hydraulic diameter exercise influence on the frictional resistance. The condition when the flowing liquid was allowed to completely "wet" the cavities was also explored. Generalized expressions enabling prediction of the classical friction factor-Reynolds number product as a function of the relevant governing parameters were also developed. The influence of superhydrophobic surfaces in turbulent flow was explored in macrochannels using particle imaging velocimetry (PIV). For the turbulent flow regime the time-averaged velocity profiles revealed no discernible slip velocity at the superhydrophobic wall. However, the results did show that the superhydrophobic surfaces exhibits an influence on the streamwise and wall-normal turbulence intensities, the turbulent shear stress, the total shear stress distributions, and the turbulence production in the channel. From the total shear stress distributions in the channel the coefficient of friction at the channel walls was determined. The results showed that for the superhydrophobic surface with ribs and cavities oriented parallel to the flow direction a reduction in the coefficient of friction as high as 16% was achieved compared to a smooth wall channel. Superhydrophobic surfaces with ribs and cavities oriented transverse to the flow direction showed a modest increase in the coefficient of friction. Differential pressure measurements in the turbulent flow channel were also acquired and used to calculate the channel average friction factor.

Experiments were performed to characterize hydraulic jumps that form due to liquid jet impingement on superhydrophobic surfaces with alternating micro-ribs and cavities. If the surface is unimmersed, a surface tension based transition into droplets occurs, so a known depth of water was imposed downstream from the hydraulic jump to ensure the existence of a hydraulic jump. The surfaces are characterized by the cavity fraction, which is defined as the width of a cavity divided by the combined width of a cavity and an adjoining rib. Four different surface designs were studied, with respective cavity fractions of 0 (smooth surface), 0.5, 0.8, and 0.93. Each surface was tested in its naturally hydrophilic state where water was allowed to flood the cavities, as well as with a hydrophobic coating which prevented water from entering the cavities and created a liquid-gas interface over much of the surface. The experimental data spans a Weber number range (based on the jet velocity and radius) of 3x102 to 1.05x103 and a corresponding Reynolds number range of 1.15x104 to 2.14x104. While smooth surfaces always result in circular transitions, for any rib and cavity patterned surface the flow exhibits a nearly elliptical transition from the thin film, where the major axis of the ellipse is parallel to the ribs, concomitant with greater slip in that direction. When the downstream depth is small and a superhydrophobic surface is used, the water is completely expelled from the surface, and the thin film breaks up into droplets due to surface tension interactions. When the downstream depth is large or the surface is hydrophilic a hydraulic jump exists. When the water depth downstream of the jump increases, the major and minor axis of the jump decreases due to an increase in hydrostatic force, following classical hydraulic jump behavior. The experimental results indicate that for a given cavity fraction and downstream depth, the radius of the jump increases with increasing Reynolds number. The jump radius perpendicular to the ribs is notably less than that for a smooth surface, and this radius decreases with increasing cavity fraction. When comparing flow over superhydrophobic (coated) surfaces to patterned, hydrophilic (uncoated) surfaces, a general increase is seen in the radial location of the hydraulic jump in the direction of the ribs, while no statistically significant change is seen in the direction perpendicular to the ribs.

The object of this work is to explore the influence superhydrophobic (SH) surfaces exert in laminar jet impingement and when they are combined with riblets in turbulent channel flow. A SH surface generates an apparent slip due to the combination of micropatterning and chemical hydrophobicity. Because of surface tension, water does not enter the cavities between the features, increasing the contact angle of a water droplet on the surface and reducing the liquid-solid contact area. An analysis based on the integral momentum approach of Karman and Pohlhausen is presented that predicts jet impingement behavior on SH surfaces. The model is first applied to the scenario where the slip at the surface is isotropic and a downstream depth is imposed such that a circular hydraulic jump occurs. The model predicts the thin film parameters downstream of the jet and the radial location of the hydraulic jump. An increase in the hydraulic jump radius occurs as slip increases, momentum of the jet increases, or the downstream depth decreases. Modifications to the model are made for the scenario where the slip at the surface varies azimuthally, as would be the case for a surface patterned with microribs. The average behavior is similar, although now an elliptically shaped jump forms with the major axis aligned parallel to the rib/cavity structures. The ellipse eccentricity increases as the slip increases, the jet momentum increases, or the downstream depth decreases. Where there is no downstream depth imposed on SH surfaces, the thin film breaks up into droplets instead of forming a hydraulic jump. Further changes are made to the model to incorporate this behavior for isotropic and anisotropic surfaces resulting in circular and elliptically shaped breakups respectively. This work also explores SH surfaces with riblets in turbulent channel flow. Pressure drop measurements across surfaces exhibiting superhydrophobicity, riblets, and surfaces with both drag reducing mechanisms are presented. The SH surface reduces drag because the effective surface area is reduced and riblets are able to reduce drag by dampening the spanwise turbulence. Photolithography was used to fabricate all surface types. An aluminum channel with a control and a test section was used for testing. Pressure transducers recorded the pressure drop across smooth silicon wafers and patterned test surfaces simultaneously allowing for computation of the friction factors.

A wide variety of nanomaterials ranging from polymer assemblies to organic and inorganic nanostructures (particles, wires, rods etc) have been actively pursued in recent years for various applications. The synthesis route of these nanomaterials had been driven through two fundamental approaches - 'Top down' and 'Bottom up'. The key aspect of their application remained in the ability to make the nanomaterials suitable for targeted location by manipulating their structure and functionalizing with active target groups. Functional nanomaterials like polyelectrolyte based multilayered thin films, nanofibres and graphene based composite materials are highlighted in the current research. Multilayer thin films were fabricated by conventional dip coating and newly developed spray coating techniques. Spray coating technique has an advantage of being applied for large scale production as compared to the dip coating technique. Conformal hydrophobic/hydrophilic and superhydrophobic/hydrophilic thermal switchable surfaces were fabricated with multilayer films of poly(allylaminehydrochloride) (PAH) and silica nanoparticles by the dip coating technique, followed by the functionalization with thermosensitive polymer-poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)(PNIPAAM) and perfluorosilane. The thermally switchable superhydrophobic/ hydrophilic polymer patch was integrated in a microfluidic channel to act as a stop valve. At 70 degree centigrade, the valve was superhydrophobic and stopped the water flow (close status) while at room temperature, the patch became hydrophilic, and allowed the flow (open status). Spray-coated multilayered film of poly(allylaminehydrochloride) (PAH) and silica nanoparticles was fabricated on polycarbonate substrate as an anti-reflection (AR) coating. The adhesion between the substrate and the coating was enhanced by treating the polycarbonate surface with aminopropyltrimethoxylsilane (APTS) and sol-gel. The coating was finally made abrasion-resistant with a further sol-gel treatment on top of AR coating, which formed a hard thin scratch-resistant film on the coating. The resultant AR coating could reduce the reflection from 5 to 0.3% on plastic. Besides multilayered films, the fabrication of polyelectrolyte based electrospun nanofibers was also explored. Ultrathin nanofibers comprising 2-weak polyelectrolytes, poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and poly(allylaminehydrochloride) (PAH) were fabricated using the electrospinning technique and methylene blue (MB) was used as a model drug to evaluate the potential application of the fibers for drug delivery. The release of MB was controlled in a nonbuffered medium by changing the pH of the solution. Temperature controlled release of MB was obtained by depositing temperature sensitive PAA/poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAAM) multilayers onto the fiber surfaces. The sustained release of MB in a phosphate buffered saline (PBS) solution was achieved by constructing perfluorosilane networks on the fiber surfaces as capping layers. The fiber was also loaded with a real life anti-depressant drug (2,3-tertbutyl-4-methoxyphenol) and fiber surface was made superhydrophobic. The drug loaded superhydrophobic nanofiber mat was immersed under water, phosphate buffer saline and surfactant solutions in three separated experiments. The rate of release of durg was monitored from the fiber surface as a result of wetting with different solutions. Time dependent wetting of the superhydrophobic surface and consequently the release of drug was studied with different concentrations of surfactant solutions. The results provided important information about the underwater superhydrophobicity and retention time of drug in the nanofibers. The nanostructured polymers like nanowires, nanoribbons and nanorods had several other applications too, based on their structure. Different self-assembled structures of semiconducting polymers showed improved properties based on their architectures. Poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) supramolecular structures were fabricated on P3HT-dispersed reduced graphene oxide (RGO) nanosheets. P3HT was used to disperse RGO in hot anisole/N, N-dimethylformamide solvents, and the polymer formed nanowires on RGO surfaces through a RGO induced crystallization process. The Raman spectroscopy confirmed the interaction between P3HT and RGO, which allowed the manipulation of the composite's electrical properties. Such a bottom-up approach provided interesting information about graphene-based composites and inspired to study the interaction between RGO and the molecular semiconductor-tetrasulphonate salt of copper phthalocyanine (TSCuPc) for nanometer-scale electronics. The reduction of graphene oxide in presence of TSCuPc produced a highly stabilized aqueous composite ink with monodispersed graphene sheets. To demonstrate the potential application of the donor (TSCuPc)'acceptor (graphene) composite, the RGO/TSCuPc suspension was successfully incorporated in a thin film device and the optoelectronic property was measured. The conductivity (dark current) of the composite film decreased compared to that of pure graphene due to the donor molecule incorporation, but the photoconductivity and photoresponsivity increased to an appreciable extent. The property of the composite film overall improved with thermal annealing and optimum loading of TSCuPc molecules.

Multi-phase fluid systems are an important concept in fluid mechanics, seen every day in how fluids interact with solids, gases, and other fluids in many industrial, medical, agricultural, and other regimes. In this thesis, the development of a two-dimensional digital microfluidic device is presented, followed by the development of a two-phase microfluidic diagnostic tool designed to simulate sandstone geometries in oil reservoirs. In both instances, it is possible to take advantage of the physics involved in multiphase flows to affect positive outcomes in both. In order to make an effective droplet-based digital microfluidic device, one must be able to precisely control a number of key processes including droplet positioning, motion, coalescence, mixing, and sorting. For planar or open microfluidic devices, many of these processes have yet to be demonstrated. A suitable platform for an open system is a superhydrophobic surface, as suface characteristics are critical. Great efforts have been spent over the last decade developing hydrophobic surfaces exhibiting very large contact angles with water, and which allow for high droplet mobility. We demonstrate that sanding Teflon can produce superhydrophobic surfaces with advancing contact angles of up to 151° and contact angle hysteresis of less than 4°. We use these surfaces to characterize droplet coalescence, mixing, motion, deflection, positioning, and sorting. This research culminates with the presentation of two digital microfluidic devices: a droplet reactor/analyzer and a droplet sorter. As global energy usage increases, maximizing oil recovery from known reserves becomes a crucial multiphase challenge in order to meet the rising demand. This thesis presents the development of a microfluidic sandstone platform capable of quickly and inexpensively testing the performance of fluids with different rheological properties on the recovery of oil. Specifically, these microfluidic devices are utilized to examine how shear-thinning, shear-thickening, and viscoelastic fluids affect oil recovery. This work begins by looking at oil displacement from a microfluidic sandstone device, then investigates small-scale oil recovery from a single pore, and finally investigates oil displacement from larger scale, more complex microfluidic sandstone devices of varying permeability. The results demonstrate that with careful fluid design, it is possible to outperform current commercial additives using the patent-pending fluid we developed. Furthermore, the resulting microfluidic sandstone devices can reduce the time and cost of developing and testing of current and new enhanced oil recovery fluids.