Initial spreading of low-viscosity drops on partially wetting surfaces

Abstract

Liquid drops start spreading directly after brought into contact with a partial wetting substrate. Although this phenomenon involves a three-phase contact line, the spreading motion is very fast. We study the initial spreading dynamics of low-viscosity drops, using two complementary methods: Molecular Dynamics simulations and high-speed imaging. We access previously unexplored length- and time-scales, and provide a detailed picture on how the initial contact between the liquid drop and the solid is established. Both methods unambiguously point towards a spreading regime that is independent of wettability, with the contact radius growing as the square root of time.

References in corpus (4)

• Viscous to Inertial Crossover in Liquid Drop Coalescence
• How micropatterns and air pressure affect splashing on surfaces
• Coalescence in low-viscosity liquids
• Universality in dynamic wetting dominated by contact line friction

Cited by in corpus (11)

• Contact angles in the pseudopotential lattice Boltzmann modeling of wetting
• Short time dynamics of viscous drop spreading
• Molecular Origin of Contact Line Friction in Dynamic Wetting
• Contact Line Catch Up by Growing Ice Crystals
• Bridge evolution during the coalescence of immiscible droplets
• Universality of oscillating boiling in Leidenfrost transition
• A sharp interface approach for wetting dynamics of coated droplets and soft particles
• Engulfment of a drop on solids coated by thin and thick fluid films
• The macroscopic contact angle of water on ice
• Short time dynamics of water coalescence on a flat water pool
• Surface structure determines dynamic wetting