Vapor-induced attraction of floating droplets
Droplets partially submersed in an immiscible liquid pool attract each other. We experimentally study the interaction of floating droplets containing aqueous solution of a volatile liquid. A droplet affects its neighbors by generating a vapor gradient to the surroundings and responds by evaporating...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
2020
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/141336 |
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| Institution: | Nanyang Technological University |
| Language: | English |
| Summary: | Droplets partially submersed in an immiscible liquid pool attract each other. We experimentally study the interaction of floating droplets containing aqueous solution of a volatile liquid. A droplet affects its neighbors by generating a vapor gradient to the surroundings and responds by evaporating asymmetrically over its exposed cap. We show that the induced asymmetric temperature distribution causes a surface tension gradient driving the attracting motion. We highlight that the attracting dynamics starts with an accelerating stage, followed by a decelerating stage. We finally provide a theoretical model that quantitatively captures the interactive forces between droplets and predicts essential features of the attracting motion. |
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