2026/06/01 by Yuhang Liu, Fei Li, Feng Xiao +4 · 1 voice
Engineering · Materials Science · #Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer #Fluid Dynamics Simulations and Interactions #Surface Modification and Superhydrophobicity
paper · doi:10.1063/5.0328302
openalex publication_date 2026/06/01 · openalex created_date 2026/06/09 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/26
The spreading behavior of microdroplets impacting smooth solid surfaces under normal and oblique impact conditions is investigated using the volume of fluid method in numerical simulations. The effects of the normal impact velocity, droplet diameter, and impact angle on the droplet spreading process are analyzed. By fitting the simulation data, the explicit expression of the coefficient that characterizes the impact conditions in the power-law model for the early-stage spreading characteristic is determined. The results indicate that this power-law model is well applicable to both normal impact spreading and the lateral spreading of oblique impacts. Additionally, within this time range, the lateral spreading coefficient of the liquid film shows a low-degree dependence on the impact angle. For the normal impact case, a functional relationship is established between the ratio of the droplet apex height to the droplet diameter and the dimensionless time. For the oblique impact case, empirical prediction models are developed for the maximum eccentricity of the elliptical liquid film and the maximum spreading coefficient in the lateral direction. Furthermore, we extend the formula for predicting the dimensionless time at the maximum spreading state of droplets under normal impact to cover oblique impact conditions.