Directional transport behaviour of droplets on the surfaces with asymmetric slanted cone arrays

Abstract

For exploring the directional transport behaviour of droplets on micro-structured surfaces, a dynamic model of droplet directional transport on the surfaces with asymmetrically oblique cones is established. The change of the droplet morphology and the flow properties are discussed. Results show that droplet can transport directionally on the surfaces with asymmetrically inclined cones. The transport velocity and morphology is significantly affected by different structural parameters. Under the preferred geometric parameters, the droplet has the maximum transport velocity and has non-splitting and stable forward transport. On both sides of the solid-liquid contact interface, the left vortex and the right vortex push and pull the interface forward respectively. This causes the droplets to flow forward synchronously with the interface. The results reveal the directional transport mechanism of droplets on the inclined cone surface, which provides a theoretical basis for the engineering surface design with fluid transport function.