Hypersonic Transition Along Curved Surfaces in the Presence of Vortices and Their Control by Using Microtextured Surfaces.

摘要

The hydrodynamics and applications of fluid flow over microtextured surfaces was studied: 1. The motion of a water droplet over a surface comprised of an array of hydrophobic microposts was examined. Water droplets do not penetrate into the texture, but glide over it, resulting in reduced friction and allowing the drops to collect contaminants so that the interface is self-cleaning. 2. The movement of water droplets immersed in oil along a surface microtextured with nanometer-sized hydrophobic particles was examined. The oil impregnates into the particle texture, and water droplets glide over the texture without becoming stuck, allowing resistance to corrosion. 3. The movement of an oil phase over a hydrophobic elastomeric polymer with high air solubility was studied, and slip, resulting in reduced drag at the oil/elastomer surface was measured by observing the motion of water droplets driven by electrical forces. 4. A microtextured surface consisting of an array of traps was constructed in a microfluidic cell to entrap and array microbeads in the cell as a prototype chip for screening biomolecular interactions. 5. In a technology transfer, the fluidics of electrically driven droplet motions is being adopted by ExxonMobil to study coalescence of water droplets in crude oil.