Evaluation of macroscale wetting equations on a microrough surface

Heterogeneous nucleation of argon vapor on the nanostructure surface with molecular dynamics simulation

The study of vapor condensation on surface has important engineering significance. The condensation nucleation process of vapor on substrates with different pillar structures is studied through molecular dynamic simulation. The condensation droplets on the pillar with various heights and solid fractions exhibit Wenzel state, Cassie state and the transformation from Wenzel state to Cassie state. The results show that the condensation efficiencies are correlated with the state of droplet and it is explained from the perspective of heat transfer. For the Wenzel state, the droplet fills the gap of pillar and the form of the heat conduction change with the growth of cluster. In the initial of condensation droplets, the heat conduction is similar with various heights of pillar. As the condensation droplets grow, the efficiency of heat conduction enhances with the increasing of height of pillar. For the Cassie state, the form of heat conduction is perpetual during the condensation process with the thermal resistance of the droplet dominated due to the droplets suspended on the pillar. The efficiency of heat transfer is insensitive to the height of pillar. The form of heat conduction for the transformation state transforms from Wenzel state to Cassie state leading to the reduction of condensation rate. The droplet formed in the Wenzel state has the higher transfer efficiency than the Cassie one.

Prediction of Contact Angles and Density Profiles of Sessile Droplets Using Classical Density Functional Theory Based on the PCP-SAFT Equation of State

This study demonstrates the capability of the density functional theory (DFT) formalism to predict contact angles and density profiles of model fluids and of real substances in good quantitative agreement with molecular simulations and experimental data. The DFT problem is written in cylindrical coordinates, and the solid-fluid interactions are defined as external potentials toward the fluid phase. Monte Carlo (MC) molecular simulations are conducted in order to assess the density profiles resulting from the Helmholtz energy functional used in the DFT formalism. Good quantitative agreement between DFT predictions and MC results for Lennard-Jones and ethane nanodroplets is observed, both for density profiles and for contact angles. That comparison suggests, first, that the Helmholtz energy functional proposed in a previous study [ Sauer , E. ; Gross , J. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 56 , 2017 , 4119 - 4135 ] is suitable for three-phase contact lines and, second, that Lagrange multipliers can be used to constrain the number of molecules, similar to a canonical ensemble. Experiments of sessile droplets on solid surfaces are performed to assess whether a real solid with its microscopic roughness can be described through a simple model potential. Comparison of DFT results to experimental data is done for a Teflon surface because Teflon can be regarded as a substrate exhibiting only attractive interactions of van der Waals type. It is shown that the real solid can be described as a perfectly planar solid with effective solvent-to-solid interactions, defined through a single adjustable parameter for the solid. Subsequent predictions for the contact angle of eight solvents, including polar components such as water, are found in very good agreement to experimental data using simple Berthelot-Lorentz combining rules. For the eight investigated solvents, we find mean absolute deviations of 3.77°.