Drops impacting inclined fibers

Mats of fibers are often used to capture liquid drops, such as in filters or in fog’s nets. It is desired to optimize the efficiency of capture, in particular in the limit of drops larger than the fibers, for which filters remain highly permeable. Here we show that the efficiency of capture is dramatically increased by tilting the fibers: then, the velocity V* below which a drop is fully captured is made much larger; moreover, the tilt maximizes the liquid volume left on the fiber when the impact velocity exceeds V*.

Graphical abstractDrop impacting an inclined fiber. Although the impact speed is too high to fully stop the drop, the fiber inclination generates a partial capture of the impacting liquid.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide