The objective is to study the dynamics of thin liquid films (rivulets) under the effect of shear flow and different surface morphologies. There are different industrial and scientific applications that will benefit from rivulet dynamics such as production of microchips in engineering, surface active materials flow in chemistry and rain runback flow on aircrafts wing in icing industry.
Two main reasons of doing this research are:

1. From the scientific point of view, there has not been yet a complete understanding of the effect of surface morphology on rivulet flow. By characterizing the film behaviour on surfaces ranging from hydrophilic to superhydrophobic this gap of knowledge can be filled. The effect of contact angle will be added to the fluid flow motion. In addition adding the effect of shear flow to this study will make it stronger.

2. From industrial point of view the one of advantages of rivulet study will be in aerospace industry. When an aircraft is flying at an elevation where temperature is below the freezing point, icing occurs. This situation happens while the plane is passing through clouds containing supercooled water droplets. Ice creation distorts aircraft aerodynamics and causes potential damage. When rain hits the airfoil surface, it starts runback flow in the form of rivulets because of the shear caused by air passing around the wing. Being able to predict the rivulet behaviour under the effect of shear flow and on different surface morphologies will be the key point for aircraft companies to modify their designs and flying conditions to reduce icing.