Surface declination governed asymmetric sessile droplet evaporation

TL;DR

This study investigates how inclined substrates affect droplet evaporation, revealing asymmetric evaporation patterns, internal circulation changes, and the influence of shape and thermal gradients, with a predictive model for evaporation dynamics.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive experimental and theoretical analysis of droplet evaporation on inclined surfaces, introducing a model to predict evaporation behavior considering shape and thermal effects.

Findings

Evaporation rates are affected by substrate inclination and contact angle asymmetry.

Internal circulation velocity increases with inclination, influencing heat and mass transfer.

Asymmetry leads to higher temperature gradients and enhanced Marangoni circulation.

Abstract

The article reports droplet evaporation kinetics on inclined substrates. Comprehensive experimental and theoretical analyses of the droplet evaporation behaviour for different substrate declination, wettability and temperatures have been presented. Sessile droplets with substrate declination exhibit distorted shape and evaporate at different rates compared to droplets on the same horizontal substrate and is characterized by more often changes in regimes of evaporation. The slip stick and jump stick modes are prominent during evaporation. For droplets on inclined substrates, the evaporative flux is also asymmetric and governed by the initial contact angle dissimilarity. Due to smaller contact angle at the rear contact line, it is the zone of a higher evaporative flux. Particle image velocimetry shows the increased internal circulation velocity within the inclined droplets. Asymmetry in the evaporative flux leads to higher temperature gradients, which ultimately enhances the thermal Marangoni circulation near the rear of the droplet where the evaporative flux is highest. A model is adopted to predict the thermal Marangoni advection velocity, and good match is obtained. The declination angle and imposed thermal conditions interplay and lead to morphed evaporation kinetics than droplets on horizontal heated surfaces. Even weak movements of the TL alter the evaporation dynamics significantly, by changing the shape of the droplet from ideally elliptical to almost spherical cap, which ultimately reduces the evaporative flux. The life time of the droplet is modelled by modifying available models for non-heated substrate, to account for the shape asymmetry. The present findings may find strong implications towards microscale thermo-hydrodynamics.