Title
Modeling the Resistance to Hydrostatic Pressures for Superhydrophobic Coatings with Random Roughness
Defense Date
2012
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science
Department
Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering
First Advisor
Hooman Vahedi Tafreshi
Abstract
A superhydrophobic coating can be produced using a hydrophobic material textured with surface roughness on the micro-/nano-scale. Such a coating on the outside of a submersible body may result in reduced skin-friction drag due to a trapped layer of air in the coating. However, this layer may become unstable when subjected to elevated hydrostatic pressures, and a coating’s performance is compromised beyond a certain threshold (critical pressure). This thesis presents a numerical model for predicting the pressure tolerances of superhydrophobic coatings comprised of randomly deposited hydrophobic particles or fibers. We have also derived a set of force-balance-based analytical equations for predicting critical pressure in surfaces with ordered roughness, and compared our numerical model against it, observing reasonable agreement. The numerical model was then applied in a large parameter study, predicting critical pressure for coatings with a given set of microstructure properties.
Rights
© The Author
Is Part Of
VCU University Archives
Is Part Of
VCU Theses and Dissertations
Date of Submission
August 2012