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May 27, 2024
Speaker: Anton Souslov (University of Cambridge)
Host: Scott Waitukaitis
Abstract:
The elastic Leidenfrost effect occurs when a vaporizable soft solid is lowered onto a hot surface. Evaporative flow couples to elastic deformation, giving spontaneous bouncing or steady-state floating. The effect embodies an unexplored interplay between thermodynamics, elasticity, and lubrication: despite being observed, its basic theoretical description remains a challenge. I will focus on our recent theory of elastic Leidenfrost floating. As weight increases, a rigid solid sits closer to the hot surface. By contrast, we discover an elasticity-dominated regime where the heavier the solid, the higher it floats. This geometry-governed behavior is reminiscent of the dynamics of large liquid Leidenfrost drops. We show that this elastic regime is characterized by Hertzian behavior of the solids underbelly and derive how the float height scales with materials parameters. Introducing a dimensionless elastic Leidenfrost number, we capture the crossover between rigid and Hertzian behavior. I will conclude by putting our recent results into a broader context.
[1] Jack Binysh, Indrajit Chakraborty, Mykyta V. Chubynsky, Vicente Luis Daz Melian, Scott R. Waitukaitis, James E. Sprittles, and Anton Souslov. Modeling Leidenfrost Levitation of Soft Elastic Solids. Phys. Rev. Lett. 131, 168201 (2023).