https://doi.org/10.1140/epjst/e2009-00870-6
Motion of a drop driven by substrate vibrations
1
Laboratoire de Mécanique de Lille, UMR CNRS 8107, Boulevard Paul Langevin, 59655 Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex, France
2
Department of Mathematics, University of Bristol, University Walk, BS8 1, TW Bristol, UK
3
Department of Physics & Center for the Study of Complex Systems, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA
Corresponding author: philippe.brunet@univ-lille1.fr
We report an experimental study of liquid drops moving against gravity, when placed on a vertically vibrating inclined plate, which is partially wet by the drop. Frequency of vibrations ranges from 30 to 200 Hz, and above a threshold in vibration acceleration, drops experience an upward motion. We attribute this surprising motion to the deformations of the drop, as a consequence of an up/down symmetry-breaking induced by the presence of the substrate. We relate the direction of motion to contact angle measurements.
© EDP Sciences, Springer-Verlag, 2009
