SUPERHYDROPHOBIC SURFACES FOR DRAG REDUCTION

Properties of superhydrophobic materials are examined in light of their possible use for drag reduction in naval applications. To achieve superhydrophobicity a low-surface-energy material must be structured so as to minimize the liquid-solid interactions. The crucial aspect is that of maintaining a layer of gas in between the (rough) wall and the liquid, and this can be achieved by hierarchical micro- and nano-structuring of the solid surface, to ensure a sufficiently large apparent slip of the fluid at the wall, thus reducing skin friction. The behavior of the liquid is quantified by a slip length; recent results have shown that this length can be as large as 400 μm. As far as transition to turbulence is concerned, we show that superhydrophobic surfaces are effective (i.e. they delay the onset of travelling instability waves) only in channels with characteristic dimensions of a few millimeters. Conversely, when the fluid flow has already attained a turbulent state, the gain in term of drag reduction can be very significant also in macroscopic configurations. This occurs because the relevant length scale of the boundary layer is now the thickness of the viscous sub-layer, which can be of magnitude comparable to the slip length, so that an effective coupling emerges. Finally, some procedures to produce superhydrophobic surfaces are examined, in light of the possible application of such innovative coatings on the hull of ships.

Energetic Approach to Large Strain Gradient Crystal Plasticity

We formulate a problem of the evolution of elasto-plastic materials subjected to external loads in the framework of large deformations and multiplicative plasticity. We focus on a spontaneous inhomogenization interpreted as a structuralization process. Our model includes gradients of the plastic strain and of hardening variables which provide a relevant length scale of the model. A simple computational experiment interpreted as a hint of a deformation substructure formation is included.

Fluctuations above a burning heterogeneous propellant

A numerical description of heterogeneous propellant combustion enables us to examine the spatial and temporal fluctuations in the flow field arising from the heterogeneity. Particular focus is placed on the fluctuations in a zone intermediate between the combustion field (where reaction is important) and the chamber flow domain, for these define boundary conditions for simulations of the turbulent chamber flow. The statistics of the temperature field and the normal velocity field are described, and characteristic length scales and time scales are identified. The length scales are small compared to any relevant length scale of the chamber flow, and so the boundary conditions for this flow at any mesh point are statistically independent of those at any other mesh point. But the temporal correlations at a fixed point are significant, and affect the nature of the chamber flow in a variety of ways. We describe the fluctuations in the head-end pressure that arise because of them, and contrast these results with those calculated using a white-noise assumption.

Atomically Abrupt and Smooth Heterointerfaces: An Optical Investigation

ABSTRACTLuminescence spectra from quantum wells are routinely interpreted in terms of atomically smooth and atomically abrupt interfaces. Here we show that this interpretation is inconsistent with photoluminescence, photoluminescence excitation, and quantitative microscopic (chemical lattice imaging) results. We argue that the discussion of interfacial roughness in terms of “an island size” is too naive. A full characterization of an interface requires the description of a “roughness spectrum”, specifying the amplitude of the interfacial corrugation vs corrugation wavelength over the relevant length scale.

Alternative Length Scales for Polycrystalline Materials

It is well established from studies of bicrystals that the properties of a grain boundary depend on the atomic structure of the boundary. However, constitutive relations for the properties of polycrystalline materials do not currently take into account this boundary-toboundary variability. Instead, such relations depend on a single length scale, typically the average grain diameter. We extend the traditional viewpoint by proposing that boundaries may be divided into two distinct categories, depending on their misorientation angle. The relevant length scale in constitutive relations for polycrystals is then the average cluster size, where clusters consist of grains connected by boundaries in the same misorientation category. A brief discussion of this additional length scale and how it may be reflected in various constitutive relations for physical and mechanical properties of polycrystals is given.