Browsing by Author "Liski, Anna"

The field of superhydrophobicity i.e. extreme water-repellency is a fast growing one ever since artificial ways of manufacturing such surfaces have been developed. Superhydrophobic surfaces have several potential applications including surfaces that are self-cleaning, corrosion and stain resistant, anti-fogging and anti-fouling. For the use of superhydrophobic surfaces in applications there is a need for a precise characterization of their wetting properties. However, conventional methods for characterization have several drawbacks when applied to superhydrophobic surfaces. This has resulted in a need to develop new method for characterizing wetting properties of superhydrophobic surfaces. This thesis presents one auspicious method for wetting characterization of ultra water-repellent surfaces along with the theory the method is based on. In the method a magnetic water droplet is forced to oscillate on the superhydrophobic surface. The friction affecting droplet during oscillations is proportional to the wetting degree of surface. Furthermore, using a moving droplet allows the investigation of dynamic wetting properties of superhydrophobic surfaces.