Self-propelling uneven Leidenfrost solids

Guillaume Dupeux (1, 2) , Tobias Baier (3) , Vincent Bacot (1) , Steffen Hardt (3) , Christophe Clanet (1, 2) , David Quéré (1, 2)

1 LadHyX - Laboratoire d'hydrodynamique
2 PMMH - Physique et mécanique des milieux hétérogenes (UMR 7636)
3 Center of Smart Interfaces

Placed on a hot surface, a solid that sublimates at atmospheric pressure can levitate on a cushion of its own vapor. Discovered by Leidenfrost, this effect has mostly been studied with liquids. Whereas the shape of a droplet is determined by a competition between gravity, surface tension, and stress in the vapor layer, a solid does not deform. In this paper, we show experimentally and theoretically that asymmetric mass distributions in a Leidenfrost solid can lead to a non homogenous vapor layer in which the lubrication flow generates a lateral force able to propel the body. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.

Domains: Fluid mechanics [physics.class-ph]; Fluids mechanics [physics.class-ph]

Guillaume Dupeux, Tobias Baier, Vincent Bacot, Steffen Hardt, Christophe Clanet, et al.. Self-propelling uneven Leidenfrost solids. Physics of Fluids, 2013, 25 (5), pp.051704. ⟨10.1063/1.4807007⟩. ⟨hal-00996482⟩