Dresden 2026 – scientific programme
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DY: Fachverband Dynamik und Statistische Physik
DY 11: Wetting, Fluidics and Liquids at Interfaces and Surfaces II (joint session CPP/DY)
DY 11.1: Talk
Monday, March 9, 2026, 11:30–11:45, ZEU/0260
Do the particle number and wettability affect their removability by a single water drop? — •Franziska Sabath1, Abhinav Naga2, Halim Kusumaatmaja2, and Doris Vollmer1 — 1Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, 55128 Mainz, Germany — 2Institute for Multiscale Thermofluids, School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
The accumulation of dust on surfaces, e.g. windows and solar panels, is a well-known phenomenon in everyday life. The ratio of the capillary force between particles and drop and the resistive forces between particles and surface, i.e. friction and adhesion, determine whether the particles can be removed by a water drop. The likeliness of particle removal depends on both particle and surface wettability. It is still questionable how the particle arrangement, the total resistive force acting and the unwanted redeposition of particles depend on the number and wettability of the particles. Here, we investigate the removal of hydrophobic and hydrophilic spherical particles from a flat surface. As the number of hydrophobic particles increases, the total resistive force increases, but not linearly, and overcomes the capillary force, causing particle redeposition. In contrast, the hydrophilic particles slide on a thin water film, reducing the particle-surface friction and no resistive force is measured within our experimental resolution.