Electrically assisted drop sliding on inclined planes

We demonstrate that electrowetting using alternating current (ac) voltage can be used to overcome pinning of small drops due to omnipresent heterogeneities on solid surfaces. By balancing contact angle hysteresis with gravity on inclined planes, we find that the critical electrowetting number for mobilizing drops is consistent with the voltage-dependent reduction in contact angle hysteresis in ac electrowetting. Moreover, the terminal velocity of sliding drops under ac electrowetting is found to increase linearly with the electrowetting number. Based on this effect, we present a prototype of a wiper-free windscreen.