Underwater Drag Reduction Failure of Superhydrophobic Surface Caused by Adhering Spherical Air Bubbles

Underwater drag reduction using superhydrophobic surfaces is a promising method due to its simplicity and low energy consumption. However, most attempts to obtain drag reduction using superhydrophobic surfaces have failed. Explanations such as air layer or air bubble vanishment and surface roughness...

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Main Authors: You Nie, Ding Weng, Jiadao Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/12/12/2170
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author You Nie
Ding Weng
Jiadao Wang
author_facet You Nie
Ding Weng
Jiadao Wang
author_sort You Nie
collection DOAJ
description Underwater drag reduction using superhydrophobic surfaces is a promising method due to its simplicity and low energy consumption. However, most attempts to obtain drag reduction using superhydrophobic surfaces have failed. Explanations such as air layer or air bubble vanishment and surface roughness are proposed in the existing works. In this work, the drag increase caused by spherical air bubbles adhering to the superhydrophobic surface is reported, and the drag increase mechanism is revealed by numerical simulation. In the water tunnel and towing tank experiment, we found that the experimental samples exhibited drag increase around a specific velocity, and the recorded optical images showed that the superhydrophobic surfaces were adhered by spherical air bubbles. Through numerical simulation, we found that the spherical air bubbles not only reduced the frictional drag but also introduced pressure drag. The drag increase was produced when the introduced pressure drag exceeded the reduced frictional drag. This work might be helpful for the drag reduction application of the superhydrophobic surface.
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id doaj-art-424f4a4fe9644d1bbf853e4a9bd5823f
institution Kabale University
issn 2077-1312
language English
publishDate 2024-11-01
publisher MDPI AG
record_format Article
series Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
spelling doaj-art-424f4a4fe9644d1bbf853e4a9bd5823f2024-12-27T14:33:09ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122024-11-011212217010.3390/jmse12122170Underwater Drag Reduction Failure of Superhydrophobic Surface Caused by Adhering Spherical Air BubblesYou Nie0Ding Weng1Jiadao Wang2State Key Laboratory of Tribology in Advanced Equipment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Tribology in Advanced Equipment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Tribology in Advanced Equipment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, ChinaUnderwater drag reduction using superhydrophobic surfaces is a promising method due to its simplicity and low energy consumption. However, most attempts to obtain drag reduction using superhydrophobic surfaces have failed. Explanations such as air layer or air bubble vanishment and surface roughness are proposed in the existing works. In this work, the drag increase caused by spherical air bubbles adhering to the superhydrophobic surface is reported, and the drag increase mechanism is revealed by numerical simulation. In the water tunnel and towing tank experiment, we found that the experimental samples exhibited drag increase around a specific velocity, and the recorded optical images showed that the superhydrophobic surfaces were adhered by spherical air bubbles. Through numerical simulation, we found that the spherical air bubbles not only reduced the frictional drag but also introduced pressure drag. The drag increase was produced when the introduced pressure drag exceeded the reduced frictional drag. This work might be helpful for the drag reduction application of the superhydrophobic surface.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/12/12/2170drag increaseair bubblesCFDsuperhydrophobic surface
spellingShingle You Nie
Ding Weng
Jiadao Wang
Underwater Drag Reduction Failure of Superhydrophobic Surface Caused by Adhering Spherical Air Bubbles
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
drag increase
air bubbles
CFD
superhydrophobic surface
title Underwater Drag Reduction Failure of Superhydrophobic Surface Caused by Adhering Spherical Air Bubbles
title_full Underwater Drag Reduction Failure of Superhydrophobic Surface Caused by Adhering Spherical Air Bubbles
title_fullStr Underwater Drag Reduction Failure of Superhydrophobic Surface Caused by Adhering Spherical Air Bubbles
title_full_unstemmed Underwater Drag Reduction Failure of Superhydrophobic Surface Caused by Adhering Spherical Air Bubbles
title_short Underwater Drag Reduction Failure of Superhydrophobic Surface Caused by Adhering Spherical Air Bubbles
title_sort underwater drag reduction failure of superhydrophobic surface caused by adhering spherical air bubbles
topic drag increase
air bubbles
CFD
superhydrophobic surface
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/12/12/2170
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AT dingweng underwaterdragreductionfailureofsuperhydrophobicsurfacecausedbyadheringsphericalairbubbles
AT jiadaowang underwaterdragreductionfailureofsuperhydrophobicsurfacecausedbyadheringsphericalairbubbles