CBET-EPSRC Dynamic Wetting & Interfacial Transitions in Three Dimensions: Theory vs Experiment
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Warwick
Department Name: Mathematics
Abstract
The spreading of liquids over solid objects is a familiar and every day occurrence. For example: raindrops smashing into windscreens; stones being thrown into ponds; a chocolate fountain coating a strawberry. In all these cases, there is a maximum speed at which the liquid can traverse (or 'wet') the object and going beyond this speed creates easily observable effects such as the the disintegration of the raindrop into smaller drops or a patchy coating of the strawberry. Remarkably, despite the seemingly innocuous nature of these everyday phenomena, at present there exists no theory or computational model capable of predicting, and hence controlling, the maximum speed of wetting.
In addition to the academic curiosity of these events, they form the basis of a remarkable array of technological applications and natural processes. In particular, the coating of thin layers of liquid which subsequently solidify is a ~$100 billion (and ever-increasing) market which is key to the manufacture of products ranging from solar cells, to alleviate energy and environmental crises, to emerging capabilities to print electronic circuits. In these industries, an ability to create optimal designs is currently limited by our knowledge of the underlying physics.
This project will underpin exploration of the aforementioned phenomena and innovation within industry by exploiting a synergy between computational models embedded within software and cutting-edge experimental analysis. The computational and experimental aspects are particularly ambitious as (a) the wetting of solids is a strongly multiscale problem, requiring resolution from almost-molecular scales right up to engineering application scales, and (b) the process is inherently three-dimensional, meaning that simplifications leading to reductions in computational complexity are impossible and high performance computing techniques must be implemented. This project exploits recent advances in (a), by the Investigators, in order to tackle the problems associated with (b) for the very first time.
New knowledge of how liquids spread over solid surfaces will be initially focussed on industrial coating problems, where the challenge is to wet a solid with a liquid as fast as possible without entraining air. Initial progress will be guided and enhanced by a collaboration with 3M (famous for products such as Post-it and Scotchgard), a multinational corporation with ~$30 billion sales annually from manufacturing solar cells, paints, anti-reflective coatings, adhesives, etc. For them, a computational model provides a fast and cost-effective way to achieve understanding of the physical mechanisms at play in order to optimise the coating process.
Breakthroughs achieved in this project will have impact within related fields of research. Within industry, this involves working with Trijet, a leading consulting firm on emerging drop-based technologies, who will translate our advances to improve the control of inkjet printing technologies that are being used in everyday applications of fluids, e.g. in the automotive industries and in the printing of high-value metallic inks such as silver for printed electronics. Furthermore, our advances could have impact in other fields, such as climate science, where similar flow structures are observed when a liquid drop impacts a bath of the same liquid, as occurs when a raindrop impacts the ocean. Here, our understanding of how trapped gas between the drop and the ocean is entrained into the latter could feed into climate models, where this is a key parameter.
In addition to the academic curiosity of these events, they form the basis of a remarkable array of technological applications and natural processes. In particular, the coating of thin layers of liquid which subsequently solidify is a ~$100 billion (and ever-increasing) market which is key to the manufacture of products ranging from solar cells, to alleviate energy and environmental crises, to emerging capabilities to print electronic circuits. In these industries, an ability to create optimal designs is currently limited by our knowledge of the underlying physics.
This project will underpin exploration of the aforementioned phenomena and innovation within industry by exploiting a synergy between computational models embedded within software and cutting-edge experimental analysis. The computational and experimental aspects are particularly ambitious as (a) the wetting of solids is a strongly multiscale problem, requiring resolution from almost-molecular scales right up to engineering application scales, and (b) the process is inherently three-dimensional, meaning that simplifications leading to reductions in computational complexity are impossible and high performance computing techniques must be implemented. This project exploits recent advances in (a), by the Investigators, in order to tackle the problems associated with (b) for the very first time.
New knowledge of how liquids spread over solid surfaces will be initially focussed on industrial coating problems, where the challenge is to wet a solid with a liquid as fast as possible without entraining air. Initial progress will be guided and enhanced by a collaboration with 3M (famous for products such as Post-it and Scotchgard), a multinational corporation with ~$30 billion sales annually from manufacturing solar cells, paints, anti-reflective coatings, adhesives, etc. For them, a computational model provides a fast and cost-effective way to achieve understanding of the physical mechanisms at play in order to optimise the coating process.
Breakthroughs achieved in this project will have impact within related fields of research. Within industry, this involves working with Trijet, a leading consulting firm on emerging drop-based technologies, who will translate our advances to improve the control of inkjet printing technologies that are being used in everyday applications of fluids, e.g. in the automotive industries and in the printing of high-value metallic inks such as silver for printed electronics. Furthermore, our advances could have impact in other fields, such as climate science, where similar flow structures are observed when a liquid drop impacts a bath of the same liquid, as occurs when a raindrop impacts the ocean. Here, our understanding of how trapped gas between the drop and the ocean is entrained into the latter could feed into climate models, where this is a key parameter.
Planned Impact
This research project matches cutting-edge fundamental research with real-world importance, to ensure impact across academic (see Academic Beneficiaries), industrial, environmental and societal sectors. New capabilities and techniques for the computational modelling and experimental analysis of technologically critical instabilities in dynamic wetting and related flows will have immediate impact on our partners' operations, as initial end-users, and longer term far reaching impact for colleagues in academia, industry and, ultimately, members of society.
Industrial Impact
-------------------
Our main focus on liquid coatings is motivated by the manifold applications of our work to this field, which has a market size currently estimated at ~$100 billion and ever-increasing. The potential for impact within this sector is evidenced by the support of project partner 3M, a multinational corporation who use liquid-based coatings in the manufacture of photovoltaics, printed electronics, paints, anti-reflective coatings, adhesives, etc. Their Letter of Support states: "3M [...] has ~$30 billion in sales annually, and employs 90,000 people around the world. Liquid-applied coatings play a significant role in 3M's business. Dynamic wetting failure and the subsequent air entrainment in coating flows is one of the primary obstacles to improving upon current manufacturing speeds. Thus, 3M is naturally very interested in the work you propose."
Advances in computational modelling will be exploited to address challenges in related fields. Here, Trijet, a consultancy firm specialising in drop-based technologies, are interested in our work because they: "strongly believe that any simulation capabilities for rapidly exploring new formulations, supported by underlying experimental analysis, would be of great interest to the industrial inkjet and spray coating world."
Initial impact with industrial end users is through our partners (3M, Trijet & Sandia National Laboratories). They will also help us to secure longer term impact, in agreeing to "facilitate collaboration with industrial partners interested in coating technologies, including Dow, 3M, and Canon Nanotechnologies" (Sandia) and "engage with our clients such as Tecglass Spain (worldwide leader in digital printers for glass) and Fenzi group, Italy (a company in the field of speciality chemicals for glass processing)" (Trijet).
In addition to exploiting pathways to impact through project partners, industries interested in new user-friendly design-by-simulation capabilities will be engaged through a variety of routes, including: (a) presenting at industrially attended conferences; (b) the organisation of an Industry Workshop; and (c) the organisation of Short Courses, facilitated by Sandia, to showcase industry-relevant advances.
Environmental
----------------
Advancing our fundamental understanding in the area of interfacial transitions could have significant benefits for the environment, including:
- the development of 'greener' coating processes that waste less materials and energy,
- improvement of the economic waste-free production of robust solar cells, to generate energy more sustainably and meet carbon reduction targets,
- knowledge of air-sea gas exchange key for climate science, which relies on understanding instabilities occurring when raindrops impact the ocean.
Societal
---------
This project will have clear societal impact in the US and UK through the following routes:
- creation of high-skilled jobs for the national workforces, enabled by supporting fundamental advances in high value manufacturing,
- development of an Anglo-American collaboration, including people and knowledge exchange, at a time of increasing international isolationism for the two nations,
- training of postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers, who will support future innovation in this area, in a world-leading, international and interdisciplinary research endeavour.
Industrial Impact
-------------------
Our main focus on liquid coatings is motivated by the manifold applications of our work to this field, which has a market size currently estimated at ~$100 billion and ever-increasing. The potential for impact within this sector is evidenced by the support of project partner 3M, a multinational corporation who use liquid-based coatings in the manufacture of photovoltaics, printed electronics, paints, anti-reflective coatings, adhesives, etc. Their Letter of Support states: "3M [...] has ~$30 billion in sales annually, and employs 90,000 people around the world. Liquid-applied coatings play a significant role in 3M's business. Dynamic wetting failure and the subsequent air entrainment in coating flows is one of the primary obstacles to improving upon current manufacturing speeds. Thus, 3M is naturally very interested in the work you propose."
Advances in computational modelling will be exploited to address challenges in related fields. Here, Trijet, a consultancy firm specialising in drop-based technologies, are interested in our work because they: "strongly believe that any simulation capabilities for rapidly exploring new formulations, supported by underlying experimental analysis, would be of great interest to the industrial inkjet and spray coating world."
Initial impact with industrial end users is through our partners (3M, Trijet & Sandia National Laboratories). They will also help us to secure longer term impact, in agreeing to "facilitate collaboration with industrial partners interested in coating technologies, including Dow, 3M, and Canon Nanotechnologies" (Sandia) and "engage with our clients such as Tecglass Spain (worldwide leader in digital printers for glass) and Fenzi group, Italy (a company in the field of speciality chemicals for glass processing)" (Trijet).
In addition to exploiting pathways to impact through project partners, industries interested in new user-friendly design-by-simulation capabilities will be engaged through a variety of routes, including: (a) presenting at industrially attended conferences; (b) the organisation of an Industry Workshop; and (c) the organisation of Short Courses, facilitated by Sandia, to showcase industry-relevant advances.
Environmental
----------------
Advancing our fundamental understanding in the area of interfacial transitions could have significant benefits for the environment, including:
- the development of 'greener' coating processes that waste less materials and energy,
- improvement of the economic waste-free production of robust solar cells, to generate energy more sustainably and meet carbon reduction targets,
- knowledge of air-sea gas exchange key for climate science, which relies on understanding instabilities occurring when raindrops impact the ocean.
Societal
---------
This project will have clear societal impact in the US and UK through the following routes:
- creation of high-skilled jobs for the national workforces, enabled by supporting fundamental advances in high value manufacturing,
- development of an Anglo-American collaboration, including people and knowledge exchange, at a time of increasing international isolationism for the two nations,
- training of postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers, who will support future innovation in this area, in a world-leading, international and interdisciplinary research endeavour.
Publications
Castrejón-Pita A
(2021)
FORMULATION, QUALITY, CLEANING, AND OTHER ADVANCES IN INKJET PRINTING
in Atomization and Sprays
Harvey HJ
(2022)
Application of microfluidic systems in modelling impacts of environmental structure on stress-sensing by individual microbial cells.
in Computational and structural biotechnology journal
Cooper L
(2020)
A computational study of fluctuating viscoelastic forces on trapped interfaces in porous media
in European Journal of Mechanics - B/Fluids
Quetzeri-Santiago M
(2020)
On the analysis of the contact angle for impacting droplets using a polynomial fitting approach
in Experiments in Fluids
Denner F
(2021)
Reversal and Inversion of Capillary Jet Breakup at Large Excitation Amplitudes
in Flow, Turbulence and Combustion
Sykes T
(2022)
Droplet splashing on curved substrates
in Journal of Colloid and Interface Science
Padrino J
(2020)
Comment on "Applying a second-kind boundary integral equation for surface tractions in Stokes flow"
in Journal of Computational Physics
Rana A
(2021)
Efficient simulation of non-classical liquid-vapour phase-transition flows: a method of fundamental solutions
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Padrino J
(2019)
Thermophoresis of a spherical particle: modelling through moment-based, macroscopic transport equations
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Rana A
(2021)
-theorem and boundary conditions for the linear R26 equations: application to flow past an evaporating droplet
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Keeler J
(2022)
Stability and bifurcation of dynamic contact lines in two dimensions
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Zhao C
(2019)
Revisiting the Rayleigh-Plateau instability for the nanoscale
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Chan T
(2020)
Cox-Voinov theory with slip
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Keeler J
(2022)
Putting the micro into the macro: a molecularly augmented hydrodynamic model of dynamic wetting applied to flow instabilities during forced dewetting
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Sykes T
(2023)
Droplet impact dynamics on shallow pools
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Constante-Amores C
(2023)
Impact of droplets onto surfactant-laden thin liquid films
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Chakraborty I
(2022)
Computational modelling of Leidenfrost drops
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Zhang Y
(2021)
Thermal capillary wave growth and surface roughening of nanoscale liquid films
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Constante-Amores C
(2023)
Direct numerical simulations of turbulent jets: vortex-interface-surfactant interactions
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Constante-Amores C
(2022)
Role of surfactant-induced Marangoni stresses in retracting liquid sheets
in Journal of Fluid Mechanics
Varghese N
(2024)
Effect of Surfactants on the Splashing Dynamics of Drops Impacting Smooth Substrates
in Langmuir
Zhang Y
(2021)
Relaxation of Thermal Capillary Waves for Nanoscale Liquid Films on Anisotropic-Slip Substrates.
in Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids
Perumanath S
(2020)
Molecular physics of jumping nanodroplets.
in Nanoscale
Fudge B
(2021)
Dipping into a new pool: The interface dynamics of drops impacting onto a different liquid
in Physical Review E
Zhao C
(2020)
Dynamics of liquid nanothreads: Fluctuation-driven instability and rupture
in Physical Review Fluids
Pritchard J
(2021)
Deformed liquid marble formation: Experiments and computational modeling
in Physical Review Fluids
Sprittles J
(2023)
Rogue nanowaves: A route to film rupture
in Physical Review Fluids
Sykes T
(2020)
Surface jets and internal mixing during the coalescence of impacting and sessile droplets
in Physical Review Fluids
Zhao C
(2022)
Fluctuation-driven dynamics in nanoscale thin-film flows: Physical insights from numerical investigations
in Physical Review Fluids
Williams H
(2022)
Effect of ambient gas on cavity formation for sphere impacts on liquids
in Physical Review Fluids
Dallaston M
(2021)
Stability of similarity solutions of viscous thread pinch-off
in Physical Review Fluids
De Fraja T
(2022)
Efficient moment method for modeling nanoporous evaporation
in Physical Review Fluids
John B
(2019)
Numerical investigation of nanoporous evaporation using direct simulation Monte Carlo
in Physical Review Fluids
Busuioc S
(2020)
Velocity distribution function of spontaneously evaporating atoms
in Physical Review Fluids
Binysh J
(2023)
Modeling Leidenfrost Levitation of Soft Elastic Solids.
in Physical review letters
Perumanath S
(2019)
Droplet Coalescence is Initiated by Thermal Motion.
in Physical review letters
Perumanath S
(2023)
Rolling and Sliding Modes of Nanodroplet Spreading: Molecular Simulations and a Continuum Approach
in Physical Review Letters
Chubynsky MV
(2020)
Bouncing off the Walls: The Influence of Gas-Kinetic and van der Waals Effects in Drop Impact.
in Physical review letters
Rana AS
(2019)
Lifetime of a Nanodroplet: Kinetic Effects and Regime Transitions.
in Physical review letters
Zhang Y
(2019)
Molecular simulation of thin liquid films: Thermal fluctuations and instability.
in Physical review. E
Liu J
(2023)
Thermal capillary waves on bounded nanoscale thin films.
in Physical review. E
Zhang Y
(2020)
Nanoscale thin-film flows with thermal fluctuations and slip.
in Physical review. E
Padrino J
(2022)
Efficient simulation of rarefied gas flow past a particle: A boundary element method for the linearized G13 equations
in Physics of Fluids
Quetzeri-Santiago MA
(2021)
Scientific reports controlling droplet splashing and bouncing by dielectrowetting.
in Scientific reports
Langley KR
(2020)
Droplet impacts onto soft solids entrap more air.
in Soft matter
Binysh J
(2022)
Modeling Leidenfrost levitation of soft elastic solids
Constante-Amores C
(2022)
Impact of droplets onto surfactant-laden thin liquid films
Title | Untitled Item |
Description | Figures use in PRE paper. |
Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
Year Produced | 2023 |
URL | https://figshare.com/articles/figure/Untitled_Item/21916320 |
Description | The maximum speed at which liquids can spread over solids is key to numerous technological and natural phenomena. In this project, we have developed new computational models to simulate this process and deployed special mathematical techniques to understand the process by which liquids fail to spread smoothly over solids. These results should have impact upon the efficiency of coating processes that are key to numerous manufactured products. |
Exploitation Route | Our findings will have impact on fluid dynamicists in academia, who can use the new computational modelling techniques; to experimentalists, who may be interested in validating theoretical predictions; and to industrial partners, who would like to know how to control contact line instabilities, typically to allow faster coating speeds. |
Sectors | Chemicals Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
Description | Conference Talk: Micro-Nano Flows Group Meeting, 2020: Jack Keeler (Team Member) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Conference Talk: Micro-Nano Flows Group Meeting, 2020: Jack Keeler (Team Member) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Conference talk: 73rd Annual Meeting of the Division of Fluid Dynamics, Chicago (Virtual), USA, 2020 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Conference talk: 73rd Annual Meeting of the Division of Fluid Dynamics, Chicago (Virtual), USA |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Keynote Talk at NEMD Special Interest Group |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Research Talk |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Leeds Institute for Fluid Dynamics Colloquium |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Colloquium that was recorded for YouTube. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Plenary at IIT Indore Workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
Results and Impact | Plenary invited talk at IIT Indore Workshop |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Seminar Talk to Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, 2020 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | A seminar talk given to the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics by Sprittles |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Seminar Talk: University of Warwick, Fluid Mechanics Seminar Series, 2020: Jack Keeler (Team Member) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Seminar Talk: University of Warwick, Fluid Mechanics Seminar Series, 2020: Jack Keeler (Team Member) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Seminar talk - Fluid Dynamics Seminar, Imperial College London, 2020 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Fluid Dynamics Seminar given at Imperial College London |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Seminar talk given to Berkeley Lab, CCSE Group, California, USA |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | A seminar talk given to Berkeley Lab, CCSE Group, California, USA by Sprittles |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Seminar talk given to Department of Computer Science, University of Durham, 2020 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Seminar talk given to Department of Computer Science, University of Durham, 2020 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Seminar talk given to Oxford Centre for Industrial Applied Mathematics, University of Oxford, 2020 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | A seminar talk given to Oxford Centre for Industrial Applied Mathematics at Univeristy of Oxford, 2020 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Seminar talk to Mathematical Division, Aachen Germany, 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Seminar talk at Mathematical Division, Achen, given by Sprittles |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Seminar talk: Applied Mathematics Seminar Series, University of Nottingham, 2020, Jack Keeler (Team Member) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | A Seminar talk on Applied Mathematics Seminar Series, University of Nottingham, 2020, given by Keeler |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Seminar talk: Applied/PDE Seminar Series, University of California Santa Barbera, 2021 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Other audiences |
Results and Impact | Seminar talk, part of a seminar series on Applied/PDE's, By Sprittles |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |