Physical Review Journal Club: Grooves Spacing Govern Water Retention During Condensation
Tuesday, February 17, 2026
11 a.m. ET, 4 p.m. GMT, 5 p.m. CET
Video Link
The Physical Review Journal Club is back, this time with a discussion with author Matteo Leonard (University of Liège), presenting their recently published Physical Review Fluids article, ”Grooves spacing govern water retention during condensation.”
After the presentation, the authors will answer questions from the audience in a live Q&A session, moderated by PRFluids Associate Editor François Gallaire (EPFL). Registration is free and a video recording will be provided to all registrants.
Summary:
Condensation on vertical surfaces typically leads to fluid retention: on smooth surfaces, condensing droplets grow, coalesce, and eventually slide, which limits the efficiency of heat exchangers and water harvesters. Adding grooves to the surface changes this picture, and depending on groove spacing, they modify water retention and drainage.
Using a systematic experimental study to quantify liquid retention on substrates patterned with parallel vertical grooves, the authors show that the groove spacing governs the transition between droplet shedding and capillary drainage, identifying two distinct regimes separated by the droplet detachment radius. At large spacings, grooves act as passive reservoirs, increasing retention. Narrow spacings instead trigger drainage that limits droplet growth and reduces retention below that of smooth surfaces. Simple asymptotic models capture this transition and provide a clear design rule for tailoring condensation-retention systems in practical applications.
Read ahead:
Grooves spacing govern water retention during condensation
M. Leonard and N. Vandewalle
