Volume and frequency-independent spreading of droplets driven by ultrasonic surface vibration

Abstract

Many industrial processes depend on the wetting of liquids on various surfaces. Understanding the wetting effects due to ultrasonic vibration could provide a means for changing the behavior of liquids on any surface. In previous studies, low-frequency surface vibrations have been used to alter wetting states of droplets by exciting droplet volume modes. While high-frequency (>20 kHz) surface vibration can also cause droplets to wet or spread on a surface, this effect is relatively uncharacterized. In this study, droplets of various liquids with volumes ranging from 2 to 70 μL were vibrated on hydrophobic-coated (FluoroSyl) glass substrates fixed to a piezoelectric transducer at varying amplitudes and at a range of frequencies between 21 and 42 kHz. The conditions for contact line motion were evaluated, and the change in droplet diameter under vibration was measured. Droplets of all tested liquids initially begin to spread out at a similar surface acceleration level. The results show that the increase in diameter is proportional to the maximum acceleration of the surface. Finally, liquid properties and surface roughness may also produce some secondary effects, but droplet volume and excitation frequency do not significantly change the droplet spreading behavior within the parameter range studied.