• International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing
  • Vol. 5, Issue 2, 25504 (2023)
Jing Sun1, Xuezhi Qin1, Yuxin Song1, Zhenyu Xu1..., Chao Zhang1, Wei Wang2, Zhaokun Wang2, Bin Wang1,3,* and and Zuankai Wang2|Show fewer author(s)
Author Affiliations
  • 1Department of Mechanical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, People’s Republic of China
  • 2Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong 999077, People’s Republic of China
  • 3Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen 518055, People’s Republic of China
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    DOI: 10.1088/2631-7990/acccbc Cite this Article
    Jing Sun, Xuezhi Qin, Yuxin Song, Zhenyu Xu, Chao Zhang, Wei Wang, Zhaokun Wang, Bin Wang, and Zuankai Wang. Selective liquid directional steering enabled by dual-scale reentrant ratchets[J]. International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, 2023, 5(2): 25504 Copy Citation Text show less

    Abstract

    Achieving well-controlled directional steering of liquids is of great significance for both fundamental study and practical applications, such as microfluidics, biomedicine, and heat management. Recent advances allow liquids with different surface tensions to select their spreading directions on a same surface composed of macro ratchets with dual reentrant curvatures. Nevertheless, such intriguing directional steering function relies on 3D printed sophisticated structures and additional polishing process to eliminate the inevitable microgrooves-like surface deficiency generated from printing process, which increases the manufacturing complexity and severally hinders practical applications. Herein, we developed a simplified dual-scale structure that enables directional liquid steering via a straightforward 3D printing process without the need of any physical and chemical post-treatment. The dual-scale structure consists of macroscale tilt ratchet equipped with a reentrant tip and microscale grooves that decorated on the whole surface along a specific orientation. Distinct from conventional design requiring the elimination of microgrooves-like surface deficiency, we demonstrated that the microgrooves of dual-scale structure play a key role in delaying or promoting the local flow of liquids, tuning of which could even enable liquids select different spreading pathways. This study provides a new insight for developing surfaces with tunable multi-scale structures, and also advances our fundamental understanding of the interaction between liquid spreading dynamics and surface topography.
    Jing Sun, Xuezhi Qin, Yuxin Song, Zhenyu Xu, Chao Zhang, Wei Wang, Zhaokun Wang, Bin Wang, and Zuankai Wang. Selective liquid directional steering enabled by dual-scale reentrant ratchets[J]. International Journal of Extreme Manufacturing, 2023, 5(2): 25504
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