Dynamics of condensation of wetting layer in time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau model

TL;DR

This paper models the growth dynamics of wetting layers during liquid condensation using a time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau approach, revealing power-law growth influenced by long-range forces.

Contribution

It introduces an analytic formula for interfacial growth velocity in a TDGL model with long-range substrate potential, linking substrate forces to wetting film growth.

Findings

Wetting film growth follows a power-law behavior.

Analytic expression relates growth velocity to substrate potential.

Long-range dispersion forces significantly influence condensation dynamics.

Abstract

The dynamics of liquid condensation on a substrate or within a capillary is studied when the wetting film grows via interface-limited growth. We use a phenomenological time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau (TDGL)-type model with long-range substrate potential. Using an order parameter, which does not directly represent the density, we can derive an analytic formula for the interfacial growth velocity that is directly related to the substrate potential. Using this analytic expression the growth of wetting film is shown to conform to a power-law-type growth, which is due to the presence of a long-range dispersion force.