Water slip flow in superhydrophobic microtubes within laminar flow region

The fabrication of superhydrophobic surfaces and the studies on water flow characteristics therein are of great significance to many industrial areas as well as to science and technology development. Experiments were carried out to investigate slip characteristics of water flowing in circular superhydrophobic microtubes within laminar flow region. The superhydrophobic microtubes of stainless steel were fabricated with chemical etching–fluorination treatment. An experimental setup was designed to measure the pressure drop as function of water flow rate. For comparison, superhydrophilic tubes were also tested. Poiseuille number Po was found to be smaller for the superhydrophobic microtubes than that for superhydrophilic ones. The pressure drop reduction ranges from 8% to 31%. It decreases with increasing Reynolds number when Re < 900, owing to the transition from Cassie state to Wenzel state. However, it is almost unchanged with further increasing Re after Re > 900. The slip length in superhydrophobic microtubes also exhibits a Reynolds number dependence similarly to the pressure drop reduction. The relation between slip length and Darcy friction factor is theoretically analyzed with consideration of surface roughness effect, which was testified with the experimental results.

Graphical AbstractExperiments were carried out to investigate slip characteristics of water flowing in a circular superhydrophobic microtube fabricated with chemical etching–fluorination.Both superhydrophobic and superhydrophilic microtubes were tested in experiments. Poiseuille number Po for the superhydrophobic microtube is smaller than that for the superhydrophilic microtube. The pressure drop reduction varies from 8% to 31%. The pressure drop decreases with increasing Reynolds number while Re < 900, owing to the transition from Cassie state to Wenzel state. However, it is almost unchanged with further increasing Re after Re > 900. The slip length in the superhydrophobic microtube also exhibits a Reynolds number dependence similarly to the pressure drop reduction. The relation between slip length and Darcy friction factor is theoretically analyzed with consideration of surface roughness effect, and testified with the experimental results.Figure optionsDownload as PowerPoint slide