Welcome Gauri Patki (DC#4) | Exploring the physics of Leidenfrost jets

At a time when physics is in the spotlight with the 2025 Nobel Prize, we are delighted to welcome Gauri Patki (DC#4) to the LeidenForce project. Her PhD work will focus on the Leidenfrost jet, studying the impact of a continuous liquid flow on a plate heated well above the boiling point of the liquid, triggering the Leidenfrost transition, where the liquid levitates on its own vapor cushion.

Exploring Leidenfrost jets

Compared to observing the Leidenfrost effect with individual droplets, the use of a continuous jet involves additional challenges: flow rate, inclination, liquid properties (volatility, surface tension) and the temperature difference between the plate and the boiling point. Gauri will aim to observe and characterize the different physical regimes resulting from the jet impact, such as rebound, the formation of a levitating liquid film, or transient Leidenfrost puddles.

Her project will also include:

• The comparison of volatile and cryogenic liquids.
• The measurement and modeling of heat transfer during jet impact, to understand how energy distributes between the plate and the levitating liquid.
• The study of particle effects on liquid film fragmentation and rebound, in collaboration with Cheikh Tidiane Dioum (DC#7).
• The creation of textured surfaces to control the Leidenfrost temperature of a jet, in collaboration with DC#5 – whose profile will be shared soon.

Collaboration and secondment

Gauri will conduct her research at IEMN, Université de Lille (France) and at PtYX, UR-CESAM, Université de Liège (Belgium), under the supervision of Alexis Duchesne, Assistant Professor at IEMN, Université de Lille, and Stéphane Dorbolo, Université de Liège and Senior research associate F.R.S.-FNRS.

Her work is part of a stimulating network of collaborations with other PhD students in LeidenForce based in Liège and Trondheim.

A six-month secondment at AIRBUS will allow Gauri to further explore the industrial and applied aspects of her research, complementing her understanding of Leidenfrost phenomena in complex conditions.

Her arrival adds a new dimension to the LeidenForce project, and we look forward to following her discoveries on these liquid jets, which could inspire new applications in microfluidics, engineering, and functional surface design.