As an approach for estimation of the droplet size in the molten salt-liquid metal extraction process, a droplet formation experiment at room temperature was conducted to evaluate the applicability of the Scheele-Meister model with water-mercury system as a surrogate that is similar to the molten salt-liquid metal system. In the experiment, droplets were formed through the nozzle and the droplet size was measured using a digital camera and image analysis software. As nozzles, commercially available needles with inner diameters (ID) of 0.018 cm and 0.025 cm and self-fabricated nozzles with 3-holes (ID: 0.0135 cm), 4-holes (ID: 0.0135 cm), and 2-holes (ID: 0.0148 cm) were used. The mercury penetration lengths in the nozzles were 1.3 cm for the needles and 0.5 cm for the self-fabricated nozzles. The droplets formed from each nozzle maintained stable spherical shape up to 20 cm below the nozzle. The droplet size measurements were within a 10% error range when compared to the Scheele-Meister model estimates. The experimental results show th

In a PEMFC gas channel with a trapezoidal cross-section, the effect of air and water inlet velocities on water removal characteristics is numerically studied via the volume of fluid(VOF) method. When the channel wall contact angle is 60 degrees, the air inlet velocities higher than 2.5 m/s are advantageous to obtain lower GDL surface water coverage ratio(WCR). The WCR increases as the wall contact angle increases to 90 or 120 degrees due to the relatively lower surface tension force. In overall, WCR decreases as the air inlet velocity increases and WCR increases as the water inlet velocity increases.

The effect of PEMFC trapezoidal channel wall contact angle on water removal characteristics is investigated with the volume of fluid (VOF) method. Two different contact angles 60 and 90 degrees are selected. In the case of the side and top wall contact angle of 60 degrees, stable semi-spherical droplets move along the top wall slowly. In contrast, complex shaped droplets move along the lower edge in the case of 90 degrees. Moreover, it is shown that very complex interaction patterns between different droplets which introduced into the channel at different times.

Generally, in the previous researches, it is found that a water droplet is respectively in Wenzel and Cassie-Baxter states on hydrophilic/hydrophobic rough surfaces. And Wenzel and Cassie-Baxter equations are used to estimate the apparent contact angle on the surfaces. However, difference between measured apparent contact angle and estimated apparent contact angle with the equations is recently reported and new model to estimate apparent contact angle on rough surfaces is proposed. In this study, wetting state and apparent contact angle on the surfaces with micro-pillars should be investigated to find solution of this argument. Using the high resolution microscope, the wetting state of the D.I.water droplet on the surface with micro-pillars was visualized and apparent contact angle of the D.I.water droplet was measured. On the basis of experimental data, the equations to estimate apparent contact angle were verificated and the general wetting characteristics on the surfaces with micro-pillars are finally classified.

Water and oxygen are two of the most essential molecules for many species on earth. Their unique properties have been studied in many areas of science. In this study, the interaction of water and oxygen molecules was observed at the nano-scale. Using molecular dynamics, a water droplet with 30,968 water molecules was simulated. Then, 501 oxygen molecules were introduced into the domain. A few oxygen molecules were attracted to the surface of the water droplet due to van der Waals forces, and some oxygen molecules actually entered the water droplet. These interactions were visualized and quantified at four temperatures ranging from 280 to 370 K. It was found that at high temperatures, there was a higher possibility of the oxygen molecules penetrating the water droplet than that at lower temperatures. However, at lower temperatures, oxygen molecules were more likely to be found interacting at the surface of the water droplet than at high temperatures.

This study investigated the feasibility of odor removal using ultrasonic droplets of electrolyzed water. 91.65% of the injected electrons were converted to oxidizing agents including hypochlorous acid at HCl 2.2%, 3 V, and a retention time of 5 min. The size of the droplets generated by the ultrasound showed a distribution with D25=1.359 μm and D75=2.506 μm. The odor removal efficiency of the electrolyzed water droplets was over 90% for a composite odor composed of acetaldehyde, hydrogen sulfide, and ammonia, while that of tap water droplets was 50%. The electrolyzed water droplets were also effective in removing ammonia generated in full-scale organic waste treatment facilities.

Dissolved oxygen is necessary for many biological processes as well as many industrial practices. Dissolved oxygen released from water in dissolved air flotation (DAF) systems can be have many different applications. However, DAF systems are very costly to operate. To develop more efficient DAF systems, a deeper understanding of the process of oxygen being released from water is required. In this study, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were used to simulate 100 oxygen molecules surrounded by 31002 water molecules at temperatures ranging from 0℃ to 100℃. Simulations were carried out for 10 ns, during which, in most cases, all the oxygen molecules were released from the water droplet. With MD simulations, visualization of the molecules escaping the water droplet was possible, which aided the understanding of the interactions between molecules at the nano-scale. The results showed that as the oxygen molecules moved near the edge of the water droplet that the oxygen molecules hesitated before escaping the water droplet or returned to the interior of the water droplet. This was because of the attractive forces between the water and oxygen molecules. Moreover, after most of the oxygen molecules were released from the droplet, some were found to return to the droplet's edge or even the interior of the droplet. It was also confirmed that oxygen molecules were released at a faster rate at higher temperatures.