Host: The Japan Society of Mechanical Engineers
Name : [in Japanese]
Date : June 28, 2023 - July 01, 2023
In this research, we focus on the self-propulsion phenomenon of alcohol droplets, and discuss their behavior based on the theoretical analysis and experiments when an exoskeleton frame is attached. It is known that when the size of an alcohol droplet is approximately 3 to 5 mm, the droplet deforms into a boomerang shape and propels itself in the convex direction. At this time, Marangoni convection is generated inside the droplet. In this research, we conducted experiments to visualize Marangoni convection by fixing the droplet shape, and investigated the suitable droplet shape for the self-propulsion. We also improved the shape of the exoskeleton frame to enable the directional control of the droplet self-propulsion.
