Microscopic analysis of particle detachment from an obliquely oscillating plate

Abstract

Particle detachment from an obliquely oscillating plate was studied experimentally and theoretically. The plate was placed in a horizontal position, and vibrations were applied in the horizontal and vertical directions by piezoelectric vibrators. The frequency of vibration was constant at 280 Hz. The amplitude of vibration increased with time and approached a constant value in each experiment. The movement of micrometer-sized spherical particles was analyzed using images captured by a high-speed microscope camera, which showed that the particles rolled on the plate before detaching from the surface, and that the rolling significantly reduced the adhesive force between the particles and surface. Furthermore, the removal efficiency, defined by the number ratio of detached particles to total particles, was analyzed as a function of the horizontal and vertical vibration accelerations. It was found that the removal efficiency was significantly affected by the horizontal vibration acceleration. These experimental results can be explained by the force and moment balance model.