Explosive boiling induced fast transportation of Leidenfrost droplet to target location

Leidenfrost droplet possesses ultra-low flow resistance, but it is challenging to obtain large thrust force for fast transportation and regulate the direction of droplet motion. Here, for the first time, we demonstrate a novel mechanism for the control of droplet dynamics by explosive boiling. Our system consists of two surfaces that have different functions: a smooth surface running in the Leidenfrost state for droplet levitation and a skirt ring edge surface (SRES) as an explosive boiling trigger. For droplet-wall collision with SRES, micro/nanoscale roughness not only enhances energy harvesting from the skirt ring to the droplet due to increased radiation heat transfer but also provides nucleation sites to trigger explosive boiling. The symmetry breaking of explosive boiling creates a thrust force that is sufficient to propel the droplet. The suppression of the thrust force relative to the inertia force regulates the droplet trajectory as it passes through a target location. We show orbit lines passing through a focusing spot that is ~1% of the Leidenfrost surface area around its center with a maximum traveling speed of ~85 cm/s, which is ~2 times of that reported in the literature. The scale law analysis explains the droplet size effect on the self-propelling droplet dynamics. Our work is attractive for applications under the conditions of the required traveling speed and direction of the droplet. Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing.

Automated summary

A novel mechanism for controlling droplet dynamics using explosive boiling is presented, which provides higher thrust force and adjustable motion direction for droplets.