The ability to trap or deflect sliding drops is of great interest in microfluidics, as it has several technological applications, ranging from self-cleaning and fog harvesting surfaces to laboratory-on-a-chip devices. We present a three-dimensional numerical model that describes sliding droplets interacting with wetting defects of variable strength and size. This approach provides relevant insight if compared to simplified analytic models, as it allows us to assess the relevance of the internal degrees of freedom of the droplet. We observe that the deformation of the drop enhances the effective strength and range of the defect, and we quantify this effect by comparison to a point-mass model. We also analyze the role of the steepness and strength of the defect on the drop motion, observing that small, strong defects are more effective at trapping than large, shallow traps of same excess surface energy. Finally, our results show quantitative agreement with previously reported electrowetting experiments, suggesting a universal behavior in droplet trapping that does not depend strongly on the nature of the defect. © 2015 American Physical Society.@en

We present a numerical simulation technique to calculate the deformation of interfaces between a conductive and non-conductive fluid as well as the motion of liquid¿liquid¿solid three-phase contact lines under the influence of externally applied electric fields in electrowetting configuration. The technique is based on the volume of fluid method as implemented in the OpenFOAM framework, using a phase fraction parameter to track the different phases. We solve the combined electrohydrodynamic problem by coupling the equations for electric effects¿Gauss¿s law and a charge transport equation¿to the Navier¿Stokes equations of fluid flow. Specifically, we use a multi-domain approach to solving for the electric field in the solid and liquid dielectric parts of the system. A Cox¿Voinov boundary condition is introduced to describe the dynamic contact angle of moving contact lines. We present several benchmark problems with analytical solutions to validate the simulation model. Subsequently, the model is used to study the dynamics of an electrowetting-based display pixel. We demonstrate good qualitative agreement between simulation results of the opening and closing of a pixel with experimental tests of the identical reference geometry. © 2015 The Author(s)@en