Simulations of slip flow on nanobubble-laden surfaces

TL;DR

This paper uses lattice Boltzmann simulations to study how gas bubbles on microstructured surfaces affect slip flow, providing insights for optimizing microchannel flow efficiency.

Contribution

It introduces a simulation approach to analyze the impact of surface patterns and gas bubbles on slip flow, aiding in microchannel design optimization.

Findings

Slip depends on pattern geometry, pressure, and shear rate

Large slip reduces friction in microchannels

Simulation results can guide surface design improvements

Abstract

On microstructured hydrophobic surfaces, geometrical patterns may lead to the appearance of a superhydrophobic state, where gas bubbles at the surface can have a strong impact on the fluid flow along such surfaces. In particular, they can strongly influence a detected slip at the surface. We present two-phase lattice Boltzmann simulations of a flow over structured surfaces with attached gas bubbles and demonstrate how the detected slip depends on the pattern geometry, the bulk pressure, or the shear rate. Since a large slip leads to reduced friction, our results allow to assist in the optimization of microchannel flows for large throughput.