Adhesion and sliding of wet snow on a super-hydrophobic surface with hydrophilic channels

Adhesion and sliding of wet snow on a superhydrophobic surface with hydrophilic channel were investigated. Two different alignment ( two dimensional and three dimensional) of the hydrophilic channels in a superhydrophobic surface were prepared and compared with merely a superhydrophobic surface and a hydrophilic surface. Both alignment samples exhibited intermediate level of wet snow adhesion between merely a superhydrophobic surface and a hydrophilic surface. Although the three dimensional sample also showed intermediate level for the wet snow sliding behavior, the two dimensional sample exhibits poorer snow sliding behavior than a superhydrophobic surface. Based on the experiments using a water-hollow glass beads composite, water movement to hydrophilic parts from wet snow occurs on both samples. It is deduced that the poor sliding behavior on the two dimensional sample was due to the increase of viscosity of wet snow on superhydrophobic parts as a result of the water movement to hydrophilic parts. (C) 2004 Kluwer Academic Publishers.