Supervisor:
Kaare H. Jensen, DTU Physics, building 309, room 124.
email: khjensen@fysik.dtu.dk
phone: +45 22315241
www: http://www.jensen-research.com
Summary: To measure rates of evaporation of water and ethanol from 3D-printed biomimetic surfaces. To determine the optimal arrangement of pores that maximizes evaporation.
Description: Evaporation occurs in numerous biological and industrial processes. Man-made examples include ink-jet printing and coating processes. In nature, animals and plants evaporate water through microscopic circular pores to regulate body temperature and uptake of gasses (CO2). While the law of evaporation from a single localized source is well established, interactions between neighbouring sources remain poorly understood. The rate of evaporation is reduced if the sources are closely packed, presumably because the evaporative streams from neighbouring sources interfere. This phenomenon severely constrains the design of evaporative surfaces in both nature and technology. In this project, you will attempt to determine the optimal arrangement of pores that maximizes the evaporative flow. First, you will fabricate 3D-printed devices designed to mimic pores located at the surface of plant leaves (stomata, see image). Second, you will measure rates of evaporation of water and ethanol from devices by periodically weighing the device to infer the rate of vapour escape.
