arXiv subjects

George Karapetsas

Publications and source records attributed to George Karapetsas.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Translation dynamics of evaporating sessile binary-mixture droplet populations

The translation dynamics of two binary mixture droplets is investigated theoretically and is corroborated with experiments. The proposed model accounts for the effects of Marangoni stresses generated by evaporative cooling and concentration gradients, as well as vapour diffusion, for both components of the binary mixture. We consider thin droplets, allowing us to use the lubrication theory to derive the evolution equation for the droplet profiles. We numerically solve the evolution equations using the finite element method and examine various cases of pure and binary droplet pairs exhibiting translational behaviours like attraction, repulsion, and 'chasing'. The results show that the combined effect of solutal Marangoni, capillary effect, and thermal Marangoni determines the movement of the droplets. The non-uniform evaporation generated from 'vapour shielding' creates such effects. We observe that for droplets with the same initial composition, solutal Marangoni and capillary forces induce droplet attraction, while thermal Marangoni effects drive their repulsion. For droplets with different initial compositions, the drop with a higher concentration of the more volatile component pushes, or `chases', the drop with a lower initial concentration of this component, completely driven by the solutal Marangoni. We carried out experiments involving water-morpholine binary mixture droplets to validate the results predicted by our model.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2026

Asymmetric freezing of a sliding droplet on an inclined surface

We investigate the asymmetric freezing of a liquid droplet sliding on an inclined cold surface using numerical simulations based on the lubrication approximation. The combined effects of gravity, capillarity, and solidification kinetics on droplet motion, interfacial deformation, and the resulting frozen morphology are examined through systematic variations in substrate inclination, wettability, effective Bond number, and Stefan number. Our results show that sliding prior to and during the early stages of freezing plays a dominant role in governing the asymmetry of the frozen droplet. A tilted ice cusp forms at the droplet tip due to the competition between gravitational forces and capillary resistance, with its orientation and magnitude strongly dependent on substrate wettability and inclination. Greater inclination and increased wettability enhance asymmetry in droplet morphology. Further, highly wetting substrates favor capillary-driven retraction and induce transient liquid motion opposite to gravity during freezing. The evolution of contact-angle hysteresis at both the solid surface and the liquid-ice interface underscores the importance of early-time dynamics, when the unfrozen liquid remains mobile and gravitational effects are most pronounced. Decomposition of the liquid motion into capillary and gravity-driven contributions provides physical insight into contact-line pinning, receding-edge thinning, and the development of asymmetric liquid-ice contact angles. Increasing the Stefan number accelerates freezing, limits sliding-induced deformation, and reduces both the cusp angle and the post-freezing contact-angle contrast. Overall, this study establishes a physical framework for understanding the morphology of frozen droplets on inclined substrates.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2025

Evaporation of sessile drops on a heated superhydrophobic substrate

We experimentally investigate the evaporation dynamics of sessile water droplets on a micro-nano textured superhydrophobic aluminum substrate at various temperatures using shadowgraphy imaging. By comparing the evaporation behavior of two droplets placed side-by-side with that of an isolated droplet, we find that droplets in the two-drop system evaporate more slowly due to the vapor shielding effect, which increases vapor concentration between the droplets. This leads to asymmetric evaporation and longer lifetimes, particularly at room temperature compared to higher temperatures. At room temperature, the isolated droplet primarily follows a constant contact angle (CCA) mode, with occasional stick-slip events. The two-drop system predominantly exhibits CCA mode for most of its lifetime, with mixed-mode evaporation and some stick-slip behavior. At elevated temperatures, the isolated droplet maintains a nearly constant contact angle for the first half of its lifetime, transitioning to a mixed evaporation mode with occasional stick-slip events. In contrast, the two-drop system follows a mixed evaporation mode throughout, with occasional stick-slip behavior. Furthermore, a comprehensive theoretical model that accounts for diffusion, evaporative cooling, and convection accurately captures the evaporation dynamics of sessile droplets on a superhydrophobic substrate in both isolated and paired configurations at elevated substrate temperatures. In contrast, a diffusion-based model alone adequately describes the evaporation behaviour at room temperature.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2024

Evaporation-driven coalescence of two droplets undergoing freezing

We examine the evaporation-induced coalescence of two droplets undergoing freezing by conducting numerical simulations employing the lubrication approximation. When two sessile drops undergo freezing in close vicinity over a substrate, they interact with each other through the gaseous phase and the simultaneous presence of evaporation/condensation. In an unsaturated environment, the evaporation flux over the two volatile sessile drops is asymmetric, with lower evaporation in the region between the two drops. This asymmetry in the evaporation flux generates an asymmetric curvature in each drop, which results in a capillary flow that drives the drops closer to each other, eventually leading to their coalescence. This capillary flow, driven by evaporation, competes with the upward movement of the freezing front, depending on the relative humidity in the surrounding environment. We found that higher relative humidity reduces the evaporative flux, delaying capillary flow and impeding coalescence by restricting contact line motion. For a constant relative humidity, the substrate temperature governs the coalescence phenomenon, and resulting condensation can accelerate this process. Interestingly, lower substrate temperatures are observed to facilitate faster propagation of the freezing front, which, in turn, restricts coalescence.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2024

Flow Structure near Three Phase Contact Line of Low-Contact-Angle Evaporating Droplets

Flow structure near three phase contact line (TPCL) of evaporating liquids plays a significant role in liquid wetting and dewetting, liquid film evaporation and boiling, etc. Despite the wide focus it receives, the interacting mechanisms therein remain elusive and in specific cases, controversial. Here, we reveal the profile of internal flow and elucidate the dominating mechanisms near TPCL of evaporating droplets, using mathematical modelling, microPIV, and infrared thermography. We indicate that for less volatile liquids such as butanol, the flow pattern is dominated by capillary flow. With increasing liquid volatility, e.g., alcohol, the effect of evaporation cooling, under conditions, induces interfacial temperature gradient with cold droplet apex and warm edge. The temperature gradient leads to Marangoni flow that competes with outwarding capillary flow, resulting in the reversal of interfacial flow and the formation of a stagnation point near TPCL. The spatiotemporal variations of capillary velocity and Marangoni velocity are further quantified by mathematically decomposing the tangential velocity of interfacial flow. The conclusions can serve as a theoretical base for explaining deposition patterns from colloidal suspensions, and can be utilized as a benchmark in analyzing more complex liquid systems.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2023

Freezing of sessile droplet and frost halo formation

The freezing of a sessile droplet unveils fascinating physics, characterised by the emergence of a frost halo on the underlying substrate, the progression of the liquid-ice interface, and the formation of a cusp-like morphology at the tip of the droplet. We investigate the freezing of a volatile sessile droplet, focusing on the frost halo formation, which has not been theoretically explored. The formation of the frost halo is associated with the inherent evaporation process in the early freezing stages. We observe a negative evaporation flux enveloping the droplet in the initial stages, which indicates that vapour produced during freezing condenses on the substrate close to the contact line, forming a frost halo. The condensate accumulation triggers re-evaporation, resulting in a temporal shift of the frost halo region away from the contact line. Eventually, it disappears due to the diffusive nature of the water vapour far away from the droplet. We found that increasing the relative humidity increases the lifetime of the frost halo due to a substantial reduction in evaporation that prolonged the presence of net condensate on the substrate. Increasing liquid volatility increases the evaporation flux, and condensation occurs closer to the droplet, as a higher amount of vapour is in the periphery of the droplet. We also found that decreasing the thermal conductivity of the substrate increases the total freezing time. The slower freezing process is accompanied by increased vaporized liquid, resulting in condensation with its concentration reaching supersaturation.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2023

Dynamics of the interaction of multiple evaporating droplets on compliant substrates

The dynamics of the interaction of a system of two thin volatile liquid droplets resting on a soft viscoelastic solid substrate are investigated theoretically. The developed model fully considers the effect of evaporative cooling and the generated Marangoni stresses due to the induced thermal gradients, while also accounting for the effect of the gas phase composition and the diffusion of vapour in the atmosphere of the droplets. Using the framework of lubrication theory, we derive evolution equations for both the droplet profile and the displacement of the elastic solid, which are solved in combination with Laplace's equation for the vapour concentration in the gas phase. A disjoining-pressure/precursor-film approach is used to describe contact-line motion. The evolution equations are solved numerically, using the finite-element method, and we present a thorough parametric analysis to investigate the physical properties and mechanisms that affect the dynamics of droplet interactions. The results show that the droplets interact through both the soft substrate and the gas phase. In the absence of thermocapillary phenomena, the combined effect of non-uniform evaporation due to the increased vapour concentration between the two droplets and elastocapillary phenonema determines whether the drop-drop interaction is attractive or repulsive. The Marangoni stresses suppress droplet attraction at the early stages of the drying process and lead to longer droplet lifetimes. For substrates with intermediate stiffness, the emergence of spontaneous symmetry breaking at late stages of evaporation is found. The rich dynamics of this complex system is explored by constructing a detailed map of the dynamic regimes.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2023

Intricate Role of Thermal Properties and Volatility in Droplet Spreading: A Generalization to Tanner's Law

Droplet spreading is ubiquitous and plays a significant role in liquid-based energy systems, thermal management devices, and microfluidics. While the spreading of non-volatile droplets is quantitatively understood, the spreading and flow transition in volatile droplets remains elusive due to the complexity added by interfacial phase change and non-equilibrium thermal transport. Here we show, using both mathematical modeling and experiments, that the wetting dynamics of volatile droplets can be scaled by the spatial-temporal interplay between capillary, evaporation, and thermal Marangoni effects. We elucidate and quantify these complex interactions using phase diagrams based on systematic theoretical and experimental investigations. A spreading law of evaporative droplets is derived by generalizing Tanner's law (valid for non-volatile liquids) to a full range of liquids with saturation vapor pressure spanning from 10^1 to 10^4 Pa and on substrates with thermal conductivity from 10^{-1} to 10^3 W/m/K. Besides its importance in fluid-based industries, the conclusions also enable a unifying explanation to a series of individual works including the criterion of flow reversal and the state of dynamic wetting, making it possible to control liquid transport in diverse application scenarios.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2022

Open-source finite volume solvers for multiphase (n-phase) flows involving either Newtonian or non-Newtonian complex fluids

Two new control volume solvers multiFluidInterFoam and rheoMultiFluidInterFoam are presented for the simulation of Newtonian and non-Newtonian n-phase flows, respectively, fully accounting for interfacial tension and contact-angle effects for each phase. The multiFluidInterFoam solver modifies certain crucial aspects of the regular multiphaseInterFoam solver provided by OpenFOAM for Newtonian flows, improving its efficiency and robustness, but most importantly improving considerably its accuracy for surface tension driven flows. The new solver uses the volume-of-fluid (VOF) method based on the MULES method and artificial interface compression for the interface capturing, in combination with a suitable continuum surface force model; i.e. the interfacial tension coefficient decomposition method is employed to treat pairings of interfacial tension between the phases. VOF smoothing is also implemented by applying a Laplacian filter on the distribution of volume fractions. The rheoMultiFluidInterFoam solver is capable of fully taking into account complex non-Newtonian effects (e.g. yield stress, viscoelasticity, etc.) of the involved liquids. To this end, the developed solver incorporates the RheoTool toolbox (Pimenta and Alves (2017) J. Non-Newtonian Fluid Mech. 239, 85-104), utilizing a wealth of constitutive equations suitable for modelling different types of fluids with complex rheology. Our solvers are tested for a wide range of different flow setups, considering typical benchmark two-phase and three-phase flows; flows involving Newtonian, viscoplastic and viscoelastic liquids have been considered. Comparisons against analytical solutions or previously published numerical data are performed clearly demonstrating the capability of the new solvers to efficiently and accurately simulate interfacial tension dominated three-phase flows for both simple and complex liquids.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2018

Effect of substrate topography, material wettability and dielectric thickness on reversible electrowetting

Recent experiments by Kavousanakis et al., Langmuir, 2018 [1], showed that reversible electrowetting on superhydrophobic surfaces can be achieved by using a thick solid dielectric layer (e.g. tens of micrometers). It has also been shown, through equilibrium (static) computations, that when the dielectric layer is thick enough the electrostatic pressure is smoothly distributed along the droplet surface, thus the irreversible Cassie to Wenzel wetting transitions can be prevented. In the present work we perform more realistic, dynamic simulations of the electrostatically-induced spreading on superhydrophobic surfaces. To this end, we employ an efficient numerical scheme which enables us to fully take into account the topography of the solid substrate. We investigate in detail the role of the various characteristics of the substrate (i.e. the dielectric thickness, geometry and material wettability) and present relevant flow maps for the resulting wetting states. Through our dynamic simulations, we identify the conditions under which it is possible to achieve reversible electrowetting. We have found that not only the collapse (Cassie-Baxter to Wenzel) transitions but also the contact angle hysteresis of the substrate significantly affects the reversibility.

cond-mat.soft↗