Droplet impact dynamics is vital to the understanding of several phase-change and heat-
transfer phenomena. This work examines the role of substrate elasticity on the spreading
and retraction behavior of water droplets impacting flat and textured superhydrophobic
substrates. Experiments reveal that droplet retraction on flat surfaces decreases with
decreasing substrate elasticity. This trend is confirmed through a careful measurement of
droplet impact dynamics on multiple PDMS surfaces with varying elastic moduli and …