Coarsening dynamics of slipping droplets

Kitavtsev G., Wagner B.

Journal of Engineering Mathematics, vol.66, no.1, pp.271-292, 2010 (SCI-Expanded) identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 66 Issue: 1
  • Publication Date: 2010
  • Doi Number: 10.1007/s10665-009-9313-z
  • Journal Name: Journal of Engineering Mathematics
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.271-292
  • Keywords: Coarsening, Fluid dynamics, Lubrication models, Wall slippage
  • Middle East Technical University Northern Cyprus Campus Affiliated: No

Abstract

The late-phase dewetting process of nanoscopic thin polymer films on hydrophobized substrates using some recently derived lubrication models that take account of large slippage at the polymer-substrate interface is studied. The late phase of this process is characterized by the slow-time coarsening dynamics of arrays of droplets that remain after rupture and the initial dewetting phases. For this situation a reduced system of ordinary differential equations is derived from the lubrication model for large slippage using asymptotic analysis. This extends known results for the no-slip case. On the basis of the reduced model, the role of the slippage as a control parameter for droplet migration is analysed and several new qualitative effects for the coarsening process are identified. © Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009.