Water droplet transport on superhydrophobic surfaces induced by the dual synthetic jets

Droplet transport is very essential in many industrial applications. This article proposed the concept of employing dual synthetic jets in conjunction with superhydrophobic materials to facilitate the long-distance directional transport of water droplets. Experiments showed that the droplet transport speed could reach approximately 90 mm/s. In addition to linear transport, dual synthetic jets were also capable of achieving curved transport of droplets on superhydrophobic surfaces. High-speed photography captured the details of the droplet transport process. Additionally, simulations analyzed the water droplet's aerodynamic forces and the deformation and breakup mechanisms at the actuator's outlet. The research in this paper was anticipated to contribute to new methods for directed droplet transport on superhydrophobic surfaces. It is eliminated the need for pre-processing the surface to create a path, and there was also no need to incorporate conductive or magnetic substances within the droplets.