Liquid-jet impact on porous, relatively
thin solids has a variety
of applications in heat transfer, filtration, liquid-fuel atomization,
incontinence products, and solid-substrate erosion, among others.
Many prior studies focused on liquid-jet impact on impermeable substrates,
and some have investigated the hydraulic jump phenomenon. In the present
work, the liquid jet strikes a superhydrophobic, permeable, metal
mesh orthogonally, and the radial spreading and throughflow of the
liquid are characterized. The prebreakthrough hydraulic jump, the
breakthrough velocity, and the postbreakthrough spatial distributions
of the liquid are investigated by varying the liquid properties (density,
surface tension, and viscosity) and the openness of the metal mesh.
The hydraulic jump radius in the prebreakthrough regime increases
with jet velocity and is independent of the liquid properties and
mesh geometry (pore size, wire diameter and pitch). The breakthrough
velocity increases with surface tension of the liquid and decreases
with the mesh opening diameter and liquid viscosity. A simple analytical
model predicts the jet breakthrough velocity; its predictions are
in accordance with the experimental observations. In the postbreakthrough
regime, as the jet velocity increases, the liquid flow rate penetrating
the mesh shows an initially steep increase, followed by a plateau,
which is attributed to a Cassie–Baxter-to-Wenzel transition
at the impact area of the mesh.