Leidenfrost drop dynamics: a forgotten past and modern day rediscoveries

When drops of liquid are placed onto highly heated substrates at temperatures well above their boiling point, the drops float on a thin layer of vapour formed between the liquid and the hot surface. In a 290 year old phenomenon referred to as the Leidenfrost effect, drops freed from contact with the surface below can undergo a range of surprising and unexpected dynamical behaviour. In this paper we trace various early developments associated with the dynamics of Leidenfrost drops. By showing how many of the more recent discoveries found in the dynamic behaviour of Leidenfrost drops were either anticipated or antedated, we hope to draw attention to the long, rich, and largely overlooked history of the Leidenfrost effect and show there is much one can learn from its forgotten past.

The ejection of large non-oscillating droplets from a hydrophobic wedge in microgravity

When confined within containers or conduits, drops and bubbles migrate to regions of minimum energy by the combined effects of surface tension, surface wetting, system geometry, and initial conditions. Such capillary phenomena are exploited for passive phase separation operations in micro-fluidic devices on earth and macro-fluidic devices aboard spacecraft. Our study focuses on the migration and ejection of large inertial-capillary drops confined between tilted planar hydrophobic substrates (a.k.a., wedges). In our experiments, the brief nearly weightless environment of a 2.1 s drop tower allows for the study of such capillary dominated behavior for up to 10 mL water drops with migration velocities up to 12 cm/s. We control ejection velocities as a function of drop volume, substrate tilt angle, initial confinement, and fluid properties. We then demonstrate how such geometries may be employed as passive no-moving-parts droplet generators for very large drop dynamics investigations. The method is ideal for hand-held non-oscillatory ‘droplet’ generation in low-gravity environments.

Field Testing of the Flowback Technology for Multistage-Fractured Horizontal Wells: Generalization to Find an Optimum Balance Between Aggressive and Smooth Scenarios

We present the results of field experiments campaign on start-up of wells located in a sandstone oilfield of Western Siberia and history matching of coupled "wellbore-hydraulic fracture" model describing well start-up and fracture clean-up. The conclusion is made about the impact of rheological and geomechanical factors on the well cumulative production andfracture conductivity.The results are generalized for four wells of the field experiment and 30 wells of the retrospective analysis. Calculations of well startup are carried out using standalone fracture cleanup model and the coupled model, which includes models for filtration inside closed hydraulic fracture and flow in the wellbore. The data obtained during field tests on well startup is used to history match the fracture clean-up model. The adaptation allows to evaluate the sensitivity of well production to various physical parameters and find the safe operating envelope of operational parameters during well startup. Numerical simulations allow take into account geomechanics effectsand rheology properties of fracturing fluid, study the dynamics of effective (cleaned) fracture length as well as evaluate the influence of pressure drop dynamics on filtration properties of the fracture and cumulative well production. We extended the number of wells to study the impact of flowback scenarios on production andgeneralized the results of our previous study.Key parameters affecting the history match process of the mathematical model are determined,the uncertainty associated with fluid rheology is reduced. Using the history-matched model, we evaluated geomechanics effects on fracture degradation depending on bottom-hole pressure drop dynamics. Based on the obtained dynamics of dimensionless parameters, such as pressure and fracture productivity, we propose an optimized well start-up strategy aimed at maximizing effective fracture length and cumulative production. Additionally, we visualized the dynamics of fracture conductivity distribution along its length. The obtained results are consistent with interpretation of physical processes accompanying well start-up and fracture clean-up. Dimensionless productivity index is chosen to quantify the effects of geomechanics and fluid rheology on well production.On the basis of matched mathematical model, we predict a potential increase in production of the well with optimized start-up.The recommendations are presented in the form of the dynamics of wellhead choke opening and a sequence of choke diameters. We propose an integrated approach for planning a well flowback strategy after multi-stage hydraulic fracturing. The proposed decision-making algorithm considers the effects of geomechanics and yield-stress hydraulic fracturing fluid rheology on cumulative production. It allows to develop a design for the well start-up and fracture cleanup in terms of dynamics of wellheadchoke opening.

Automated Control Of Aspiration Of Explosion-And Fire-Hazardous Industries With Filters-Dust Collectors

The article presents a scheme for automated control of an aspiration system equipped with filters-dust collectors for production associated with the circulation of explosive dust- gas flows. As an indicator of the state of the entire aspiration, it is proposed to use the total pressure drop on the filter partition and the temperature shown by the pressure sensors. Based on the experimental study of the unrelated layer structure filter total pressure drop dynamics a mathematical description, algorithm and software for trouble-free operation of aspiration were obtained.

How a raindrop gets shattered on biological surfaces

Many biological surfaces of animals and plants (e.g., bird feathers, insect wings, plant leaves, etc.) are superhydrophobic with rough surfaces at different length scales. Previous studies have focused on a simple drop-bouncing behavior on biological surfaces with low-speed impacts. However, we observed that an impacting drop at high speeds exhibits more complicated dynamics with unexpected shock-like patterns: Hundreds of shock-like waves are formed on the spreading drop, and the drop is then abruptly fragmented along with multiple nucleating holes. Such drop dynamics result in the rapid retraction of the spreading drop and thereby a more than twofold decrease in contact time. Our results may shed light on potential biological advantages of hypothermia risk reduction for endothermic animals and spore spreading enhancement for fungi via wave-induced drop fragmentation.