Impact Dynamics of Water Droplet on Solid Surfaces: Effect of Impact Reynolds Number, Hydrophobicity, Surface Roughness and Temperature

One of the most complicated issues the aerospace and aviation industries are dealing with is aircraft icing. The impact and freezing process of a water droplet on a cold surface has been investigated over time in order to develop preventative methods for avoiding icing. In the present study, we examined the behavior of a water droplet impacting on an aluminum plate with a surface roughness of 0.01µm and surface temperature variation from room temperature to 0oC, −5oC, −10oC and −15oC. The effect of droplet impact Reynolds number along with surface temperature variation on non-dimensional parameters like spread factor, retraction rate, and spread velocity is analyzed. The increase in impact Reynolds number and droplet spread factor is observed with a rise in the initial height of the droplet. At a higher Reynolds number, inertial forces are dominant over viscous and capillary forces, while at a lower Reynolds number, surface temperature shows a significant effect. The graphical representation of droplet retraction rate indicates a decrease with lower surface temperature and a rise with higher Reynolds numbers. Moreover, the spread velocity of the droplet is higher with an increased Reynolds number, and surface temperature does not have a notable effect on it. A rapid transition of momentum from vertical to horizontal direction occurs, and droplet dissipates energy in overcoming the viscous effects. The effect of surface roughness variation coupled with surface temperature is investigated in detail for three different surface roughness of aluminum and glass. The increase in surface roughness and temperature enhance hydrophobic behavior by repelling the droplet, while reduced surface temperatures show hydrophilic behavior by causing adhesion of the droplet on surface.