Development of a continuum mechanical model for the description and simulation of the interactions between water droplet, microstructured substrate and pollutant particles during self-cleaning

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This proposal is an extension of our previous work on self-cleaning surface mechanism. During the first one-year funding period, an initial computational model of a water droplet in contact with rough surfaces has been developed. The major goal of the new research is the development of a detailed computational multiscale model for self-cleaning surface mechanisms that is based on a continuum mechanical description. Three modelling levels are considered, ranging from the millimeter scale of the droplet down to the nanometer scale of the finest surface asperities. This approach is also seen as a preparation for a future extension by a fourth modelling level that describes the interactions at the atomic level. In order to develop the multiscale model, three intermediate steps are taken: Firstly, an improved finite element membrane formulation is required. Secondly, a refined computational contact formulation needs to be developed for the membrane that can account for the rotational discontinuities that are induced within the membrane surface. Thirdly, also the description of the pollutant particles needs to be refined.