Research tools for under-water wetting dynamics

“无针”水下液滴沉积是申请人的最新创新，允许将给定液体的液滴沉积在放置在另一液体内的任何基底上。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，包括在不同环境压力下控制海洋生态系统生存的自然润湿现象。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。这种将不同部件定制到现有商业产品上的组装将使研究人员能够研究水下水滴动力学，并为从水下水滴的平衡特征到水滴聚结和冲击的大量问题提供润湿的关键基础知识。拟议的研究工具将旨在打开一个新的窗口，了解毛细作用和润湿动力学的固体内放置的液体。周围粘性介质的存在将改变润湿和毛细作用的经典描述，拟议的研究工具旨在解决相关的基本问题。同样重要的是，拟议的研究对于减轻漏油等灾害对海洋物种的影响等应用是必不可少的（例如，最近的海湾石油泄漏），减少能源勘探对水生物种的影响（例如，这些研究工具将培训大量的HQP，目标是在基础科学与工程应用研究无缝结合的基础上，培养一支训练有素的劳动力队伍。新的结果和成果将为研究界提供急需的更好地了解“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.