Understanding how droplets behave on different surfaces
1
Imagine raindrops hitting a window or splashing onto the ground: can you picture how the droplets behave when they fall onto different surfaces? Some might spread out, some might bounce off, and others might stick and move slowly across the surface.
“This research focuses on understanding how droplets interact with different surfaces, including smooth and rough ones, by using advanced computer simulations,” said Associate Professor Parisa Mirbod, director of The Mirbod Lab at UIC. “Since experiments can’t capture every detail, these simulations help us study how droplets behave when they land, spread, or move. This knowledge can be applied to real-world problems, such as preventing ice from forming on airplanes or improving cooling systems for electronics.”
The research is supported by a US Army grant for a project called “Hybrid interface-resolved simulations of fluid and solid to uncover droplets impact on complex substrates.”
Droplet motion and impact affect many things in nature and technology and understanding how droplets behave can help engineers design better surfaces that prevent ice buildup, make self-cleaning surfaces for buildings, and improve industrial processes like spray coating and cooling systems.
“By studying how multiple droplets interact with different types of surfaces, we can develop smarter technologies that control fluid movement more effectively,” she said. “This research has the potential to improve several industries and technologies.
For Mirbod, creating accurate computer simulations for droplet behavior is challenging due to many factors that need to be considered.
“We’re investigating the complex physics involved, which have many variables, such as surface roughness, droplet size, impact speed, and air temperature, influence how droplets behave,” she said. “We’re also looking at the computational challenges. Simulating multiple droplets in detail requires a lot of computing power and time.”
While there are high risks in developing these numerical methods, the findings will have significant implications for fundamental flow physics and optimizing applications for a wide variety of industrial processes.