Fluctuation assisted spreading of a fluid filled elastic blister

Abstract

In this theoretical and numerical study, we show how spatially extended fluctuations can influence and dominate the dynamics of a fluid filled elastic blister as is deforms onto a pre-wetted solid substrate. To describe the blister dynamics, we develop a stochastic elastohydrodynamic framework that couples the viscous flow, the elastic bending of the interface and the noise from the environment. We deploy a scaling analysis to find the elastohydrodynamic spreading law $\hat{R}\sim {\hat{t}}^{1/11}$ a direct analogue to the capillary spreading of drops, while the inclusion of noise in our model highlights that the dynamics speed-up significantly $\hat{R}\sim {\hat{t}}^{1/6}$ as local changes in curvature enhance the peeling of the elastic interface from the substrate. Moreover, our analysis identifies a distinct criterion for the transition between the deterministic and stochastic spreading regime, which is further illustrated by numerical simulations.

References in corpus (4)

• Thermal noise influences fluid flow in thin films during spinodal dewetting
• Elastic deformations driven by non-uniform lubrication flows
• Elastohydrodynamic wake and wave resistance
• Frozen states and order-disorder transition in the dynamics of confined membranes

Cited by in corpus (4)

• Linear stability theory and molecular simulations of nanofilm dewetting with disjoining pressure, strong liquid-solid slip, and thermal fluctuations
• Growth of a viscoplastic blister underneath an elastic sheet
• Stochastic elastohydrodynamics of contact and coarsening during membrane adhesion
• Instability and rupture of sheared viscous liquid nanofilms