Size-Dependent Impact Dynamics of Water Droplets on Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Surfaces
摘要
The impact behavior of water droplets of varying diameters was systematically examined on the Poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA, hydrophilic) and polystyrene (hydrophobic) surfaces to reveal the role of the droplet size and wettability in spreading and retraction dynamics. High-speed imaging was employed to analyze the maximum spreading diameter, spreading velocity, recoiling velocity, and rebound behavior. The result showed that the maximum spreading diameter was found to increase with droplet size on both substrates, governed by the rise in initial kinetic energy. This effect was more pronounced on the hydrophobic surface, where spreading velocity scaled more sharply with droplet size. A predictive correlation,