Research tools for under-water wetting dynamics

“无针”水下滴滴沉积是申请人的最新创新，允许将给定液体的滴滴沉积在放置在另一种液体中的任何基板上。这一及时的发现促使申请人冒险进入一个非常新的发现研究和开发领域，该领域可以解释不同的自然润湿现象，包括那些在不同环境压力下支配海洋生态系统生存的现象。本提案中要求的研究工具包括光学和机械系统，这些系统将与商业接触角测量系统（DSA 100）集成。将不同的组件定制组装到现有的商业产品上，将使研究人员能够研究水下滴动力学，并为从水下滴的平衡特征到滴的聚结和冲击等大量问题提供关键的润湿基础知识。提出的研究工具将旨在打开一扇新的窗口，了解液体中固体的毛细作用和润湿动力学。周围粘性介质的存在将改变对润湿和毛细作用的经典描述，提出的研究工具将旨在解决相关的基本问题。同样重要的是，拟议的研究对于诸如减轻漏油等灾害对海洋物种的影响（例如，最近的海湾漏油事件）、减少能源勘探对水生物种的影响（例如，油砂活动产生的尾矿对鱼类的影响）、开发具有防污性能的高效水下或海上航行工具等应用来说是不可或缺的。这些研究工具将培养大量hqp，目标是在基础科学与工程应用研究无缝整合的基础上，培养一支训练有素的劳动力队伍。新的结果和结果将为研究界提供急需的更好地理解“水下”防油表面。它将使加拿大成为了解石油泄漏、油砂尾矿等对环境影响的领导者之一，并将推动申请人的研究小组成为润湿界的科学领导者之一。

The "needle-free" under-water drop deposition, a latest innovation by the applicant, allows depositing drops of a given liquid on any substrate placed inside another liquid. This timely discovery has propelled the applicant to venture into a very new area of discovery research and development, which can explain different natural wetting phenomena, including those that govern the survival of marine ecosystem under different environmental stresses. The research tools requested in this proposal comprised of optical and mechanical systems, which will be integrated with a commercial contact angle measurement system (DSA 100). Such customized assembly of different components onto an existing commercial product will enable researchers to study the under-water drop dynamics and provide critical fundamental knowledge of wetting for large number of problems ranging from equilibrium signature of under-water drop to drop coalescence and impact. The proposed research tools will aim to open a new window of understanding of the capillarity and wetting dynamics on solids placed inside a liquid. Presence of a surrounding viscous medium would alter the classical description of wetting and capillarity, and the proposed research tools would aim to address the relevant fundamental issues. Equally importantly, the proposed research would be indispensable for applications like mitigation of effects of disasters like oil-spill on marine species (e.g., recent Gulf oil spill), reducing impact of energy exploration on aquatic species (e.g., impact of tailings from oilsands activities on fish), development of efficient under-water or sea-faring vehicles with antifouling properties, etc. The research tools will train a large number of HQPs with a goal to create a trained workforce based on seamless integration of fundamental science with applied research in engineering. The novel results and outcomes will provide the research community with much needed better understanding of "under-water" oil repellent surfaces. It will make Canada one of the leaders in understanding environmental impact of oil spills, oilsands tailings, etc. and will propel the applicant's research group as one of the scientific leaders in the wetting community.