Scalable superhydrophobic coating with controllable wettability and investigations of its drag reduction

In this study, steel surface was sprayed with suspension that contained PMMA and hydrophobic nanoscale silica, and the obtained surface showed variable contact angle from 94° to 159°, sliding angle from 90° to 2°, suggesting the controllable wettability; besides, the facile preparation process showed promising prospect to be scaled up. We studied the drag-reducing property of treated steel via sailing test and rotary disc test, results showed that SHS could efficiently reduce the drag force under low fluidic condition; surprisingly, for the intense turbulent flow, the SHS exhibited a drag-increasing effect, indicating that such surface only functions under mild flow condition.Graphical abstract

Source: Colloids and Surfaces A: Physicochemical and Engineering Aspects - July 11, 2018 Category: Chemistry Source Type: research