The Self-Actuating Droplet That Can Turn: A Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Yalong Kong, Zhigang Liu, Lin Guo () and Yu Qiu ()
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Yalong Kong: Energy Research Institute, Qilu University of Technology, Jinan 250014, China
Zhigang Liu: Energy Research Institute, Qilu University of Technology, Jinan 250014, China
Lin Guo: Energy Research Institute, Qilu University of Technology, Jinan 250014, China
Yu Qiu: School of Energy Science and Engineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 22, 1-16

Abstract: Water collection remains a fundamental challenge to stable and efficient operation of the solar desalination system. Functional surfaces that can realize self-actuation of droplets have shown great potential in improving droplet dynamics without external energy. Therefore, a surface that can make a droplet move spontaneously along a curve was designed for smart droplet manipulation, and the mechanism of the droplet motion was revealed through molecular dynamics simulations. Influences of the wettability difference between the curved track and the background, the width of curved track, and the temperature were evaluated via simulations. The results show that the surface on which the curved track and the background are both hydrophobic enables a faster actuating velocity of the droplet than the hydrophilic-hydrophobic surface and the hydrophilic-hydrophilic surface. The width of the curved track also affects the actuating velocity of the droplet and increasing the TRACK width can increase the actuating velocity of the droplet. However, actuation of the droplet slows down if the width of the curved track is too large. Overall, the mechanism driving the motion of the droplet along the curve was investigated, which opens new opportunities for the application and manufacturing of water collection in solar desalination.

Keywords: solar desalination; droplet smart manipulation; molecular dynamics simulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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