Tuning hydrophobicity and water adhesion by electrospinning and silanization

Electrospinning and silanization were synergistically employed to fabricate poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and PVA/silica mixtures into flexible and chemically modifiable nanostructured surfaces with varying degrees of hydrophobicity and water adhesion. Surfaces possessing the greatest advancing water contact angle yet exhibiting a high level of water adhesion (θ(A)/θ(R) ≈ 168°/0°) were achieved by the reaction of PVA fiber mats with multiple cycles of SiCl(4)/H(2)O treatment, followed by silanization with (1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyl)trichlorosilane. It is postulated that the strong pinning effect and hence the water adhesion originated from the collapse of the underlying fibrous structures and the removal of air pockets. The addition of silica to the PVA matrix improved the rigidity and thus prevented the fibers from collapsing, allowing air to remain trapped within the fibrous structure and giving the surface greater water repellency. Throughout the investigation, the three wetting models--Wenzel's, Cassie-Baxter's, and the Cassie-impregnating--were regularly referred to as a conceptual framework. The hydrophobic surface that exhibited strong water adhesion, or the so-called "Petal effect", was elucidated in correlation with the fibrous structure of the film, as reviewed by microscopic analysis. In summary, electrospinning as a facile and cost-effective method provides promising opportunities for investigating the mechanistic character of nanowetting, nanoprinting, and nanocoating where the precise control of the dynamical three-phase contact line is of paramount importance.     

Experimental studies of a steam jet refrigeration cycle: Effect of the primary nozzle geometries to system performance

This paper describes an experimental investigation of a steam jet refrigeration. A 1 kW cooling capacity experimental refrigerator was constructed and tested. The system was tested with various operating temperatures and various primary nozzles. The boiler saturation temperature ranked from 110 to 150 °C. The evaporator temperature was fixed at 7.5 °C. Eight primary nozzles with difference geometries were used. Six nozzles have throat diameters ranked from 1.4 to 2.6 mm with exit Mach number of 4.0. Two remained nozzles have equal throat diameter of 1.4 mm but difference exit Mach number, 3.0 and 5.5. The experimental results show that the geometry of the primary nozzle has strong effects to the ejector performance and therefore the system COP.     

Comparative visualized investigation of impact-driven high-speed liquid jets injected in submerged water and in ambient air

This paper is a comparative study on the characteristics of high-speed liquid jets injected in surrounding water and air using shadowgraph technique. One of the main objectives is to investigate the effects of liquid’s physical properties, used to generate the high-speed liquid jets, on jet generation’s characteristics. Moreover, comparative investigations on effects of those liquid jets after injected in water and air are reported. The high-speed liquid jets were generated by the impact of a projectile launched by a horizontal single-stage power gun. The impact-driven high-speed liquid jets were visualized by shadowgraph technique and images were recorded by a high-speed digital video camera. The process of impact-driven high-speed liquid jet injection in air and water, oblique shock waves, jet-induced shock waves, shock waves propagation, the bubble behavior, bubble collapse-induced rebound shock waves and bubble cloud regeneration were clearly observed. It was found that different properties of liquid (surface tension and kinematic viscosity) affect the jet maximum velocity and shape of the jet. Bubble behaviors were only found for the jet injected in water. From the shadowgraph images, it is found that the maximum average jet velocity, expansion and contraction velocities of bubble in axial direction increase when the value of the multiplied result of surface tension by kinematic viscosity increases. Therefore, surface tension and kinematic viscosity are the significant physical properties that affect characteristics of high-speed liquid jets.