Simulation of Effective Slip and Drag in Pressure-Driven Flow on Superhydrophobic Surfaces

Abstract

The flow on superhydrophobic surfaces was investigated using finite element modeling (FEM). Surfaces with different textures like grooves, square pillars, and cylinders immersed in liquid forming Cassie state were modeled. Nonslip boundary condition was assumed at solid-liquid interface while slip boundary condition was supposed at gas-liquid interface. It was found that the flow rate can be affected by the shape of the texture, the fraction of the gas-liquid area, the height of the channel, and the driving pressure gradient. By extracting the effective boundary slip from the flow rate based on a model, it was found that the shape of the textures and the fraction of the gas-liquid area affect the effective slip significantly while the height of the channel and the driving pressure gradient have no obvious effect on effective slip.