arXiv subjects

Silvia Varagnolo

Publications and source records attributed to Silvia Varagnolo.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2017

Stretching of viscoelastic drops by steady sliding

The sliding of non-Newtonian drops down planar surfaces results in a complex, entangled balance between interfacial forces and non linear viscous dissipation, which has been scarcely inspected. In particular, a detailed understanding of the role played by the polymer flexibility and the resulting elasticity of the polymer solution is still lacking. To this aim, we have considered polyacrylamide (PAA) solutions of different molecular weights, suspended either in water or glycerol/water mixtures. In contrast to drops with stiff polymers, drops with flexible polymers exhibit a remarkable elongation in steady sliding. This difference is most likely attributed to different viscous bending as a consequence of different shear thinning. Moreover, an "optimal elasticity" of the polymer seems to be required for this drop elongation to be visible. We have complemented experimental results with numerical simulations of a viscoelastic FENE-P drop. This has been a decisive step to unravel how a change of the elastic parameters (e.g. polymer relaxation time, maximum extensibility) affects the dimensionless sliding velocity.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2016

Deviation of viscous drops at chemical steps

We present systematic wetting experiments and numerical simulations of gravity driven liquid drops sliding on a plane substrate decorated with a linear chemical step. Surprisingly, the optimal direction to observe crossing is not the one perpendicular to the step, but a finite angle that depends on the material parameters. We computed the landscapes of the force acting on the drop by means of a contact line mobility model showing that contact angle hysteresis dominates the dynamics at the step and determines whether the drop passes onto the lower substrate. This analysis is very well supported by the experimental dynamic phase diagram in terms of pinning, crossing, sliding and sliding followed by pinning.

physics.flu-dyn↗

arXiv2015

Sliding droplets of Xanthan solutions: a joint experimental and numerical study

We have investigated the sliding of droplets made of solutions of Xanthan, a stiff rodlike polysaccharide exhibiting a non-newtonian behavior, notably characterized by a shear-rate dependence of the viscosity. These experimental results are quantitatively compared with those of newtonian fluids (water). The impact of the non-newtonian behavior on the sliding process was shown through the relation between the average dimensionless velocity (i.e. the Capillary number) and the dimensionless volume forces (i.e. the Bond number). To this aim, it is needed to define operative strategies to compute the Capillary number for the shear thinning fluids and compare with the corresponding newtonian case. Results from experiments were complemented with lattice Boltzmann numerical simulations of sliding droplets, aimed to disentangle the influence that non-newtonian flow properties have on the sliding.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2013

Stick-Slip Sliding of Water Drops on Chemically Heterogeneous Surfaces

We present a comprehensive study of water drops sliding down chemically heterogeneous surfaces formed by a periodic pattern of alternating hydrophobic and hydrophilic stripes. Drops are found to undergo a stick-slip motion whose average speed is an order of magnitude smaller than that measured on a homogeneous surface having the same static contact angle. This motion is the result of the periodic deformations of the drop interface when crossing the stripes. Numerical simulations confirm this view and are used to elucidate the principles underlying the experimental observations.

cond-mat.soft↗