Drop Dynamics on under-liquid Surfaces: Discovery and Development

在申请人的领导下，阿尔伯塔大学微纳米尺度传输实验室（MNT实验室）的一项最新创新，允许将给定液体的液滴沉积在放置在另一种液体中的基板上，从而使基板独立的“液下”液滴沉积成为可能。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。研究计划的第一部分将侧重于牛顿液滴在液体下表面以可忽略不计的冲击速度下降的行为。研究的第二部分将集中在牛顿液滴以给定的撞击速度撞击液下基底的情况下，由此产生的动力学将由两种液体（液滴和周围环境）的粘度和撞击速度的相互作用决定。研究的第三部分将解决上述两种现象的情况下，非牛顿或粘弹性滴在类似的液体。研究计划的最后一个组成部分将是开发“水下”超疏油表面。提出的研究计划旨在通过实验和先进的理论研究，为理解液体中固体的毛细作用和润湿动力学打开一扇新的窗口。周围黏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，最近的墨西哥湾漏油事件）、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。该研究计划旨在培养大量的研究生和大四本科生，目标是建立一个基于基础科学与工程应用研究无缝结合的训练有素的劳动力。研究计划的新结果和成果将通过高质量的出版物传播，并将为研究界提供急需的对“水下”拒油（超疏油）表面的更好理解。这项综合研究计划将使阿尔伯塔省和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。

A latest innovation at the Micro and Nano-scale Transport Laboratory (MNT Lab), University of Alberta, under the leadership of the applicant, which allows depositing drop of a given liquid on a substrate placed inside another liquid, thereby making substrate independent "under-liquid" drop deposition feasible. 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 first part of the research program would focus on behavior of Newtonian liquid drops descending with negligible impact speed on the under-liquid surfaces. The second part of the research would focus on the case where the Newtonian drop impacts the under-liquid substrate with a given impact speed and the resulting dynamics will be dictated by the interplay of the viscosities of the two liquids (drop and surrounding), and the impact velocity. The third part of the research would address the above two phenomena for the case of non-Newtonian or viscoelastic drop in a similar liquid. The final component of the research program would be towards the development of "under-water" superoleophobic surfaces. The proposed research program will aim to open a new window of understanding of the capillarity and wetting dynamics on solids placed inside a liquid through both experimental and advanced theoretical studies. Presence of a surrounding viscous medium would alter the classical description of wetting and capillarity, and the proposed research 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 on aquatic species from energy exploration (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 program aims to train a large number of graduate students and senior undergraduate students 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 of the research program will be disseminated through high quality publications and will provide the research community with much needed better understanding of "under-water" oil repellent (superoleophobic) surfaces. This proposed comprehensive research program will make the Province of Alberta and 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.