Wetting of non rigid surfaces

In the world of anti-wetting surfaces, many superhydrophobic substrates comprise rigid structures on rigid substrates. The development of a thin flexible substrate would allow new avenues to be explored to fully take advantage of the non-wetting properties of superhydrophobicity. This thesis presents a novel production method and subsequent analysis of thin, conformable, superhydrophobic films based on the embedding of carbon nano-particles (CNPs) into the surface of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates. Firstly experiments were performed to determine the effects of surface roughness on the capillary origami process. It was found that the droplet wrapping process could be controlled with the appropriate choice of liquid. Using a wetting liquid would see an enhanced wrapping state whereas use of a dewetting liquid would see a complete suppression of the wrapping process. The second set of experiments concentrated on determining whether or not it is possible to reduce the drag force experienced on cylinders in a laminar flow situation. By comparing an uncoated cylinder to a CNP PDMS coated cylinder of equivalent diameter, it was determined that it is possible to reduce the drag by a maximum of 28%.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

phd

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

doctoral

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Nottingham Trent University

Year dc:date.issued

2015

Author dc:creator

• Geraldi, NR

Language dc:language

en