---
OA_place: publisher
_id: '23005'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: When a Leidenfrost droplet floats on its own vapor layer, the interplay between
    vapor pressure, surface tension, and gravity determines its shape, and in the
    stable regime the underside of the droplet exhibits curvature inversion. Using
    interferometric imaging, we observe a different behavior for a levitated hydrogel
    sphere. Curvature inversion appears briefly after deposition, but the continuous
    vaporization process removes this feature, leading first to an oscillatory regime
    and eventually to a steady state without curvature inversion. We demonstrate the
    essential role of vaporization in shaping the hydrogel underbelly, where direct
    mass loss has a stronger influence than the balance between vapor pressure and
    elastic forces.
acknowledged_ssus:
- _id: M-Shop
alternative_title:
- ISTA Thesis
article_processing_charge: No
author:
- first_name: Vicente L
  full_name: Diaz Melian, Vicente L
  id: b6798902-eea0-11ea-9cbc-a8e14286c631
  last_name: Diaz Melian
citation:
  ama: Diaz Melian VL. The morphology underneath a levitated hydrogel sphere. 2026.
    doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-23005">10.15479/AT-ISTA-23005</a>
  apa: Diaz Melian, V. L. (2026). <i>The morphology underneath a levitated hydrogel
    sphere</i>. Institute of Science and Technology Austria. <a href="https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-23005">https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-23005</a>
  chicago: Diaz Melian, Vicente L. “The Morphology underneath a Levitated Hydrogel
    Sphere.” Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 2026. <a href="https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-23005">https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-23005</a>.
  ieee: V. L. Diaz Melian, “The morphology underneath a levitated hydrogel sphere,”
    Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 2026.
  ista: Diaz Melian VL. 2026. The morphology underneath a levitated hydrogel sphere.
    Institute of Science and Technology Austria.
  mla: Diaz Melian, Vicente L. <i>The Morphology underneath a Levitated Hydrogel Sphere</i>.
    Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 2026, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-23005">10.15479/AT-ISTA-23005</a>.
  short: V.L. Diaz Melian, The Morphology underneath a Levitated Hydrogel Sphere,
    Institute of Science and Technology Austria, 2026.
corr_author: '1'
date_created: 2026-09-28T17:40:23Z
date_published: 2026-09-29T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-10-02T08:44:47Z
day: '29'
ddc:
- '530'
- '530'
- '530'
degree_awarded: PhD
department:
- _id: GradSch
- _id: ScWa
doi: 10.15479/AT-ISTA-23005
doi_confirm: '1'
file:
- access_level: open_access
  checksum: f339bdee0a6925573687de928ca525dc
  content_type: application/pdf
  creator: vdiazmel
  date_created: 2026-09-29T09:22:27Z
  date_updated: 2026-09-29T09:56:46Z
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  file_name: 2026_diaz-melian_vicente_Thesis.pdf
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  checksum: 5b17122895fc419bfb620e23bfe7780a
  content_type: application/zip
  creator: vdiazmel
  date_created: 2026-09-29T09:49:32Z
  date_updated: 2026-09-29T09:56:46Z
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  relation: source_file
file_date_updated: 2026-09-29T09:56:46Z
fulldoi: https://doi.org/10.15479/AT-ISTA-23005
has_accepted_license: '1'
language:
- iso: eng
month: '09'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
page: '114'
publication_identifier:
  issn:
  - 2663-337X
publication_status: published
publisher: Institute of Science and Technology Austria
related_material:
  record:
  - id: '14514'
    relation: part_of_dissertation
    status: public
  - id: '21982'
    relation: part_of_dissertation
    status: public
researchdata_availability: yes
status: public
supervisor:
- first_name: Scott R
  full_name: Waitukaitis, Scott R
  id: 3A1FFC16-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Waitukaitis
  orcid: 0000-0002-2299-3176
supplementarymaterial: yes
title: The morphology underneath a levitated hydrogel sphere
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by.png
  legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
  name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
  short: CC BY (4.0)
type: dissertation
user_id: 8b945eb4-e2f2-11eb-945a-df72226e66a9
year: '2026'
...