This thesis is centered on the study of spontaneous droplet migration along conical
fibers. One of the key motivations for this project was to better understand the
water-harvesting mechanism used by natural organisms like cacti. These desert plants
exploit the conical shape of their spines to make fog condense into small droplets at
the tip of theses spines. Then, droplets will spontaneously move towards the thickest
end of the spines, bringing water to the main body of the plant. The key force behind
drop migration on a conical fiber has been identified as the fluid surface tension by
Lorenceau an Quéré in 2004. These authors also suggested and tested a model
predicting the speed of drops on conical fibers. Here, we explore a larger range of
relative sizes of drops compared to the fiber radius.
The present document describes how an experimental set-up was designed in order
to study droplet migration with conical glass fibers and silicone oil droplets. Using
optical microscopy and data analysis, the droplet speed was measured as well as
the other experimental parameters. Finally, a simple theoretical model has been
developed to predict the droplet speed as a function of geometrical parameters and
fluid characteristics. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/24114 |
| Date | January 2018 |
| Creators | Fournier, Clementine |
| Contributors | Dalnoki-Veress, Kari, Physics and Astronomy |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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