微尺度下锥形微操作探针表面液滴形成的研究（英）

基于液滴的转移方法可实现微操作任务中微对象的拾取,锥形操作探针则常作为一种毛细力微操作执行工具。主要研究在空气冷凝模式下锥形探针端面的液滴形成。建立了微液滴形成的数学模型,主要包括初始液滴的形成、液滴的合并和液滴的移动,研究了影响操作液滴的关键参数,分析表明:过冷度决定最小液滴半径。对单液滴的生长机制进行理论分析,并通过数值求解的方法模拟了锥形操作探针端面的液滴形成。搭建实验测试平台,实验研究了微尺度下锥形微操作探针端面的液滴形成。实验结果表明:在空气冷凝模式下,操作探针端面能够形成微液滴。经过初始液滴的形成,液滴的合并和移动等过程最终可形成稳定的微液滴,且不同锥顶角下液滴的形成呈现多样化。     

Surface-tension-confined droplet microfluidics

This article is a concise overview about the developing microfluidic systems named surface-tension-confined droplet microfluidics(STORMs). Different from traditional complexed droplet microfluidics which generated and confined the droplets by three-dimensional(3D) poly(dimethylsiloxane)-based microchannels, STORM systems provide twodimensional(2D) platforms for control of droplets. STORM devices utilize surface energy, with methods such as surface chemical modification and mechanical processing, to control the movement of fluid droplets. Various STORM devices have been readily prepared, with distinct advantages over conventional droplet microfluidics, which generated and confined the droplets by 3D poly(dimethylsiloxane)-based microchannels, such as significant reduction of energy consumption necessary for device operation, facile or even direct introduction of droplets onto patterned surface without external driving force such as a micropump, thus increased frequency or efficiency of droplets generation of specific STORM device, among others. Thus, STORM devices can be excellent alternatives for majority areas in droplet microfluidics and irreplaceable choices in certain fields by contrast. In this review, fabrication methods or strategies, manipulation methods or mechanisms,and main applications of STORM devices are introduced.     

Formation and mobility of droplets on composite layered substrates

A mesoscale fluid film placed on a solid support may break up and form droplets. In addition, droplets may exhibit spontaneous translation by modifying the wetting properties of the substrate, resulting in asymmetry in the contact angles. We examine mechanisms for droplet formation and motion on uniform and terraced landscapes, i.e., composite substrates. The fluid film stability, droplet formation and velocity are studied theoretically in the isothermal case using a lubrication approach in one spatial dimension. The droplet properties are found to involve contributions from both the terraced layer thickness and molecular interactions via the disjoining potential.     

Directional Motion of Droplets in a Conical Tube or on a Conical Fibre

Manipulating the directional movement of liquid droplets is of significance for design and fabrication of some microfluidic devices, An energy-based method is adopted to analyse the directional movement of a droplet deposited in a conical tube or on a conical fibre. We perform an experiment to investigate the directional motion of a droplet in an open conical tube. Our theoretical analysis and experimental observations both demonstrate that surface tension can drive the droplet to move in the conical tube. The critical condition of the liquid moving in the conical tube is presented. We also analyse a droplet on a conical hydrophilic fibre, which can move from the thinner to the thicker end.     

Negative Goos-Hänchen shift on a concave dielectric interface

We study the Goos-H?nchen shift (GHS) on a curved surface through numerical simulation by the boundary element method. A negative GHS is first discovered on a concave dielectric interface below the critical angle, accompanied by a large positive GHS on the convexity. The simulation shows that the GHS on a planar interface is the composition of the GHS from a concave and the corresponding convex interface. This work will enrich the study of the GHS for different curved surfaces, which will have potential applications in micro-optics and near-field optics.     

电场对协流式微流控装置中乳液液滴生成行为的调控机理

建立了直流电场作用下协流式微流控装置中单乳液液滴乳化生成过程的非稳态理论模型,并开展了数值模拟研究,揭示了电场对液滴乳化生成动力学行为的调控机理,阐明了流场/电场参数对液滴乳化生成特性的影响规律.研究结果表明:沿流体流动方向施加静电场可在电物性参数不同的两相流体界面法线方向上产生指向内相流体的电场力,进而强化了内相流体界面的颈缩和断裂,提升了液滴生成速率和形变程度,减小了液滴生成尺寸;在同一毛细数下,随着电毛细数的增大,乳液乳化流型由每周期仅有单一液滴生成的滴式流型转变为每周期有一个主液滴并伴随有卫星液滴生成的滴式流型;随着毛细数和电毛细数的增大,黏性拖曳力以及电场力作用增强,使内相流体颈缩过程后期更容易形成细长型液线,从而有助于诱发液线上产生Rayleigh-Plateau不稳定现象,继而促进卫星液滴的形成.     

Ultrafocusing of surface plasmon-polariton in a narrowing concave gap

In a concave gap between flat and cylindrically convex metallic surfaces, surface plasmon-polariton may be localized in nanoscale in conditions of adiabatic narrowing of the gap minimum width and convex curvature radius. Waveguide channels of this type may serve, due to small losses, as an elemental basis for creation of high-speed nanoscale optical circuits.     

Observation of sharp resonances in the spontaneous Raman spectrum of a single optically levitated microdroplet

Sharp resonances have been observed in the spontaneous Raman spectra of single, optically levitated microdroplets. The droplets, 10 to 35 μm in diameter, were suspended by a CW argon laser beam which also served as the Raman excitation source. Experiments with dioctyl phthalate (DOP) and silicone oil confirmed that all Raman bands present in the bulk liquid spectra were also observable in the levitated droplet spectra, in agreement with previous micro-Raman studies of droplets on substrates. However, superimposed on the spectra of the levitated droplets was a series of sharp features not present in the bulk liquid spectra. Time-resolved experiments with growing DOP droplets showed that the sharp Raman features have the same origin as the elastic light scattering and flourescence resonances observed in previous studies of microspheres and fibers.     

Water contact angles on charged surfaces in aerosols

Interactions between water and solid substrates are of fundamental importance to various processes in nature and industry. Electric control is widely used to modify interfacial water, where the influence of surface charges is inevitable. Here we obtain positively and negatively charged surfaces using LiTaO₃ crystals and observe that a large net surface charge up to 0.1 C/m² can nominally change the contact angles of pure water droplets comparing to the same uncharged surface. However, even a small amount of surface charge can efficiently increase the water contact angle in the presence of aerosols. Our results indicate that such surface charges can hardly affect the structure of interfacial water molecular layers and the morphology of the macroscopic droplet, while adsorption of a small amount of organic contaminants from aerosols with the help of Coulomb attraction can notably decrease the wettability of solid surface. Our results not only provide a fundamental understanding of the interactions between charged surfaces and water, but also help to develop new techniques on electric control of wettability and microfluidics in real aerosol environments.     

The studies on the motion of the sine‐Gordon kink on a curved surface

The numerical studies of the kink motion on a curved manifold were performed. Examples of the curved surfaces are considered in detail. Enlarging the kink width in curved regions of the surface and reduction of its speed is confirmed. Reflection of the kink front from the large curvature areas is observed. The influence of the curvature on the speed of the Vachaspati waves is also observed.     

Transport mechanism by which droplets on electrowetting-on-dielectric devices

Digital microfluidics technology based on the electrowetting-on-dielectric (EWOD) effect is a popular emerging technology whose objects of manipulation are individual droplets on the micro-liter or even nano-liter scales. It has the unique advantages such as rapid reaction, low reagent consumption, and high integration, which have drawn extensive attention and application in the fields of biology, medicine, and chemistry. However, there has been no a complete mechanism by which the droplets transition from stillness to motion in EWOD chip, leaving the proper mechanism for droplet movement uncertain. At this point in time, we studied the EWOD theory and polarization mechanism underlying solid-liquid interface, thus building upon previous research. The theoretical derivation and numerical analyses of EWOD driving force were presented. Then, the process and mechanism of droplet movement from stillness to motion was comprehensively analyzed, the results obtained from the simulation and discussion were in agreement with experimental results. It is our hope that this work will inspire new research into less understood EWOD regimes and help design useful EWOD devices.     

偏晶合金液-液相分离的格子玻尔兹曼方法模拟

本文建立了一个模拟在弥散相液滴的扩散长大、碰撞凝并和Ostwald熟化等因素的作用下偏晶合金液-液相分离过程的二维格子玻尔兹曼方法 (lattice Boltzmann method, LBM) 模型.该模型结合了Shan-Chen的两相流模型和Qin的介观粒子相互作用势模型的优点,并在LB演化方程中引入了反映相变的源项.应用该模型模拟研究了偏晶合金液-液相分离过程中单液滴的生长、两液滴的合并和多液滴的生长规律.结果表明在两液相区中第二相单个液滴的生长是一个通过扩散从非平衡态到平衡态过渡的过程.两液滴合并 关键词： 偏晶合金 液-液相分离 格子玻尔兹曼方法     

Determining directional emissivity: Numerical estimation and experimental validation by using infrared thermography

Little research has examined that inaccurate estimations of directional emissivity form a major challenge during both passive and active thermographic measurements. Especially with the increasing use of complex curved shapes and the growing precision of thermal cameras, these errors limit the accuracy of the thermal measurements. In this work we developed a technique to estimate the directional emissivity using updated numerical simulations. The reradiation on concave surfaces is examined by thermal imaging of a homogeneous heated curved metal and nylon test sample. We used finite element modelling to predict the reradiation of concave structures in order to calculate the parameters of an approximating formula for the emissivity dependent on the angle to the normal vector on each element. The differences between experimental and numerical results of the steel test sample are explained using electron microscopy imaging and the validation on different materials. The results suggest that it is possible to determine the errors of thermal imaging testing of complex shapes using a numerical model.     

The effect of curvature on Stoneley waves

The effect of curvature is investigated for plane waves propagating in the circumferential direction along concave and convex cylindrical surfaces, and at the interface of a circular cylindrical inclusion in smooth or bonded contact with an unlike infinite medium. The waves propagate with an arbitrary, but generally large number of circumferential modes. These problems reduce to Rayleigh and Stoneley waves in the limit as the curvature vanishes. Dispersion relationships are presented for each case.     

Hydrodynamics of passing-over motion during binary droplet collision in shear flow

A combined experimental and numerical study is undertaken to investigate the hydrodynamic characteristics of single-phase droplet collision in a shear flow. The passing-over motion of interactive droplets is observed, and the underlying hydrodynamic mechanisms are elucidated by the analysis of the motion trajectory, transient droplet deformation and detailed hydrodynamic information (e.g., pressure and flow fields). The results indicate that the hydrodynamic interaction process under shear could be divided into three stages: approaching, colliding, and separating. With the increasing confinement, the interaction time for the passing-over process is shorter and the droplet processes one higher curvature tip and more stretched profile. Furthermore, the lateral separation Δy/R₁ exhibits larger decrease in the approaching stage and the thickness of the lubrication film is decreased during the interaction. As the initial lateral separation increases, the maximum trajectory shift by the collision interaction is getting smaller. During the collision between two droplets with different sizes, the amplitude of the deformation oscillation of the larger droplet is decreased by reducing the size ratio of the smaller droplet to the bigger one.     

单液滴正碰球面动态行为特性实验研究

在考虑空气阻力影响,确定液滴撞击球面速度的基础上,对较高韦伯数液滴撞击干燥球面动态行为过程进行了实验研究,分析了球面曲率与韦伯数对液滴撞击行为和铺展因子的影响,并与前人撞击平面结果进行了对比.实验表明,靠近撞击球面时,液滴降落速度出现明显波动;球面曲率对液滴撞击后行为影响明显,曲率较大时,液滴撞击后铺展液膜会超出球面直径并滑落,曲率较小时,液滴撞击后在球面上呈现明显的铺展、回缩、震荡、着附动态变化行为,此时最大铺展因子受曲率影响小,随曲率减小,逐渐趋向于撞击平面时的最大铺展因子;韦伯数对液膜铺展速率影响较小,但对液膜回缩时间影响明显,最大铺展因子随韦伯数增加逐渐增大,获得的关联式呈指数变化.     

Droplets sliding on fibres

We present the results of a combined experimental and theoretical investigation of oil droplets sliding on fibres. First, both the axisymmetric shape and the motion of a droplet on a vertical fibre are described. The motion is shown to result from a balance between the droplet weight and the viscous stresses. On a long-term range, the droplet loses some mass through coating the fibre, which decreases its velocity. In a second time, we rationalize the behaviour of a droplet that encounters a junction between vertical and horizontal fibres. Depending on its size, the droplet may cross the junction or remain blocked. The transition is well described by an ordinary differential equation equivalent to a damped harmonic oscillator truncated to the neighbourhood of the horizontal fibre. This simple system is the basic element for more complex fiber networks that would be useful in microfluidic applications involving droplets.     

Thermodynamically stable pickering emulsions

We show that under appropriate conditions, mixtures of oil, water, and nanoparticles form thermodynamically stable oil-in-water emulsions with monodisperse droplet diameters in the range of 30-150 nm. This observation challenges current wisdom that so-called Pickering emulsions are at most metastable and points to a new class of mesoscopic equilibrium structures. Thermodynamic stability is demonstrated by the spontaneous evolution of binary droplet mixtures towards one intermediate size distribution. Equilibrium interfacial curvature due to an asymmetric charge distribution induced by adsorbed colloids explains the growth of emulsion droplets upon salt addition. Moreover, the existence of a minimal radius of curvature with a concomitant expulsion of excess oil is in close analogy with microemulsions.     

Computer simulation of heterogeneous nucleation on curved surfaces using a simplified string method combined with phase-field simulations

We show how the combination of string method with the phase-field approach can be extended from simulations of homogeneous nucleation to heterogeneous nucleation. From these simulations, it is possible to directly obtain nucleation barriers for heterogeneous nucleation on arbitrary surfaces as well as information about the size and shape of the critical nucleus. We test the method by comparing the dependence of the nucleation barrier for heterogeneous nucleation on concave and convex surfaces on the surface curvature obtained from three-dimensional phase-field simulations with predictions from classical nucleation theory and find good agreement between them.     

液滴撞击圆柱内表面的数值研究

针对液滴撞击圆柱内表面的过程,利用基于相场的格子Boltzmann方法模拟液滴以不同初速度、从不同初始高度、撞击不同大小的圆柱内表面时液滴的形态变化,分析了液滴自身物性(如密度和黏性等)和圆柱内表面润湿性等因素对撞击现象的具体影响.研究发现:撞击韦伯数、密度比及动力黏性比、圆柱半径等对液滴撞击后沿圆柱内表面的铺展均有一定影响,较高的韦伯数下液滴可能会发生分裂;液滴初始高度对大密度比和动力黏性比的撞击影响较小;液滴反弹现象可能出现在接触角较大时;重力作用会抑制撞击后液滴的振荡.