Objectives Newly proposed in recent years, the liquid-infused surface (LIS) is a drag reduction surface which replaces the residual air conserved by the microgrooves of a traditional superhydrophobic surface with a lubricant, thereby vastly improving the stability of the drag reduction level. To fully understand the drag reduction stability of LIS, this paper focuses on the influence of lubricant solubility on drag reduction.
Methods Based on the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM), we simulated a conserving lubricant microstructure with microflow and studied the influence of the lubricant's dissolved density and shear velocity on slip length.
Results The liquid-infused surface results in a slip phenomenon, and there exists a linear relationship between slip length and cohesion force strength among its particles when the lubricant is completely dissolved or difficult to dissolve.
Conclusions With greater cohesion force strength among its particles, a lubricant can result in more promising drag reduction when it is difficult to dissolve. The lubricant's shear velocity has little influence on slip length. The properties of the lubricant are similar to those of a traditional superhydrophobic surface.
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