Recent Advances and Publications

1) The work of droplet heat transfer, led by Ms Yan Yan, is published in the International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer (Yan et al.: Experimental investigation of boiling regime transitions during ethanol droplets impact using synchronized infrared thermography and high-speed visualization, Vol 267, 2026, 128975) , https://authors.elsevier.com/sd/article/S0017-9310(26)00651-4.  This work develops a novel experimental platform, featuring a transparent ITO-coated sapphire substrate that enables simultaneous high-speed infrared thermography (2000 Hz, and 25 µm/pixel) of the liquid-solid interface, synchronized with side- and bottom-view visualization. This unique tri-modal approach (side-view, bottom-view, and IR thermography) provided unprecedent rich information about droplet impact heat transfer in different boiling regimes over a wide temperature range and Weber numbers, which is of high value on the design of droplet and spray-based thermal management systems.

2) The above work is a follow-up of droplet study published  in Small Methods (Yan et al. Droplet impact on superhydrophobic surfaces under high pressures, Vol 10, 2026, 2500913, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/smtd.20250091). In this work, Yan et al. reported the first experimental investigation of droplet impact under high ambient pressure (up to 200 bar) onto different superhydrophobic substrates, and developed a  phenomenological mode by considering both enhanced cushioning effect and hydrodynamic impact dynamics at high pressure. 

3) The work of our 3D manufacturing, led by Dr. Muhammad Amjad, Superhydrophobic 3D‑printed microstructures: applications, challenges, and prospects, is published in Progress in Additive Manufacturing (vol 10:7337–7364, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40964-025-01155-9). Superhydrophobic surfaces have great potential for a wide range of applications, including  self-cleaning, anti-corrosive, drag-reductive, oil-repellent, anti-icing, and anti-biofouling ,  but the manufacturing process is challenging. This work presents a review of different 3D-printing technologies, the applications, and the challenges in fabricating superhydrophobic microstructures, supported by samples fabricated by our high resolution 3D printer (up to 2 micrometer resolution).