Shi Meng, Ji Xing, Feng Shangsheng, Yang Qingzhen, Lu Tian Jian, Xu Feng
School of Energy and Power Engineering, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049 China.
Bioinspired Engineering and Biomechanics Center (BEBC), Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, 710049 China.
Sci Rep. 2016 Jun 24;6:28574. doi: 10.1038/srep28574.
The Leidenfrost phenomenon of liquid droplets levitating and dancing when placed upon a hot plate due to propulsion of evaporative vapor has been extended to many self-propelled circumstances. However, such self-propelled Leidenfrost devices commonly need a high temperature for evaporation and a structured solid substrate for directional movements. Here we observed a "cold Leidenfrost phenomenon" when placing a dry ice device on the surface of room temperature water, based on which we developed a controllable self-propelled dry ice hovercraft. Due to the sublimated vapor, the hovercraft could float on water and move in a programmable manner through designed structures. As demonstrations, we showed that the hovercraft could be used as a cargo ship or a petroleum contamination collector without consuming external power. This phenomenon enables a novel way to utilize programmable self-propelled devices on top of room temperature water, holding great potential for applications in energy, chemical engineering and biology.
由于蒸发蒸汽的推进作用，液滴置于热板上时会出现悬浮和跳动的莱顿弗罗斯特现象，该现象已扩展到许多自推进的情况。然而，这种自推进的莱顿弗罗斯特装置通常需要高温来进行蒸发，还需要结构化的固体基板来实现定向运动。在此，我们将干冰装置放置在室温水面上时观察到了一种“冷莱顿弗罗斯特现象”，基于此我们开发了一种可控的自推进干冰气垫船。由于升华的蒸汽，气垫船能够漂浮在水面上，并通过设计的结构以可编程的方式移动。作为演示，我们展示了该气垫船可以用作货船或石油污染收集器，而无需消耗外部动力。这种现象为在室温水面上利用可编程自推进装置提供了一种新方法，在能源、化学工程和生物学领域具有巨大的应用潜力。
