Observation of sessile droplet freezing on textured micropillar surfaces via visualization and thermography

Sessile droplet freezing on textured micropillar surfaces was observed visually and thermographically. Hydrophobic surfaces with three different topographies were selected, the contact angles of water on which were 141°, 102°, and 138°. Droplet surface temperature distribution measurements from lateral view enabled quantitative evaluation of the freezing stages. According to the experiment, it was found that the surface hydrophobicity decreases with the increasing pillar distance. Only a slight increase in hydrophobicity was found with the decreasing pillar diameter. The liquid water droplet experienced five successive stages to become fully frozen. It was also confirmed that the droplet’s opaque appearance is caused by the sudden ice shell formation at the ice incipience. Besides, the solidification frontier (SF) movement inside the droplet was analyzed. The freezing rate was higher at the SF edge. Moreover, the textured surfaces with higher hydrophobicity were prone to further postpone the droplet’s freezing onset. However, surface topography showed minor impact on the droplet surface recalescence stage duration. Additionally, the droplet internal solidification stage lasted longer on samples with higher hydrophobicity.