Nano- and micro- poro-elastic fog nets for water harvesting

Access to fresh water is the foundation for life on Earth that poses severe restrictions and requirements for life in areas that contended with water scarcity, a problem that will increase in the future with the growing effects of climate change. A fog net is an extremely promising and low-cost water harvesting system that collect fog droplets as they impact onto the solid net structure. In this project develop new materials with nano- and micro-scale structures and designs of fog nets to improve their water harvesting capacity. We have developed experiments of droplets on threads in wind flow and examined how droplet settling dynamics is affected by substrate softness. Ethics and philosophy of science aspects will be discussed, as well as questions related to its societal relevance and direct interaction with stakeholders, embedded in a responsible research and innovation framework. We will directly interact with the users (stakeholders) of the fog net to increase the reflectiveness and knowledge of the use of the technology.

A fog net is an extremely promising and low-cost water harvesting system that collect fog droplets as they impact onto the solid net structure. Despite that most of the world is anticipated to be under severe water stress by year 2030, and the urgent need for efficient water harvesting solutions in arid regions, the fog net technology is still in its infancy. In this project, we will develop a novel fog net by combining the thread shape and the elastic nano- and micro-porous material, which can outperform conventional fog nets. This requires an understanding of the porous elasto-capillary flows in these nets, i.e., to describe the coupling between thread shape and directional droplet spreading, to the microscopic droplet dynamics on the poro-elastic material, to the flow on the macroscopic net scale. To do this we will use tools and concepts from material science, fluid dynamics and soft matter physics. The project focuses on answering these questions; Can we design and optimise the water yield from fog nets? Can we develop a poro-elastic material with novel properties for droplet collection and transport? Can net threads be designed so that droplets self-coat the material and significantly improve the droplet mobility? Can we define fog net design parameters based on weather conditions? To answer these questions, we will develop theoretical models for the porous elasto-capillary flow and use experiments to develop nano-/micro- poro-elastic materials optimal for droplet collection. Together, this will provide design guidelines for fog nets based on the flow physics. Ethics and philosophy of science aspects will be discussed, as well as questions related to its societal relevance and direct interaction with stakeholders, embedded in a responsible research and innovation framework. Our holistic and interdisciplinary approach can unveil a new paradigm for fog collection, in addition to providing new fundamental insight into the physics of porous elasto-capillary flows.