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Stabilizing lubricating gas films at the solid-liquid interface is a promising strategy for underwater drag reduction. It has been restricted by the enormous extra energy input and the poor stability of superhydrophobic coatings. Cavity encapsulation is a valid method to improve and maintain the formation of the air layer on the solid surface, which is created by the rapidly impacting process on a water surface. The wettability of solid objects (the combination of the surface roughness and chemical component) and liquid properties played a key factor in determining the water impact process for cavity entrainment. However, inspired by the striking behavior of basilisk lizards and their toe's shape, we found that the geometric shape of solid objects plays an equally important role in cavity entrainment and stabilization, which is often ignored. Herein, we present a universal strategy to retain the air cavity on the cylinder surfaces. The cavity can be retained not only on the surface of superhydrophobic cylinders but also on the surface of hydrophobic, hydrophilic, and even superhydrophilic cylinders, without bursting at a depth of 70.0-90.0 cm underwater. The retaining cavity enfolds the profile and upper sides of the cylinder and changes its shape to a streamlined body to achieve underwater drag reduction. In addition, optimizing the cylinders' shapes by increasing the fillet radii significantly improved the drag reduction efficiency from 64.2 to 70.5%.
Yao et al. (Wed,) studied this question.