Modeling of multiple three phase contact lines of liquid droplets on geometrically patterned surfaces: continuum and mesoscopic analysis

TL;DR

This paper introduces an augmented Young-Laplace equation to accurately model multiple contact lines of droplets on complex patterned surfaces, offering a computationally efficient alternative to mesoscopic simulations.

Contribution

The work develops a unified continuum formulation that accounts for microscale interactions and multiple contact lines, bypassing traditional boundary conditions and enabling analysis of complex surface geometries.

Findings

Efficient computation of equilibrium droplet shapes on structured surfaces.

Comparison shows good agreement with mesoscopic Lattice Boltzmann simulations.

Ability to trace stable and unstable wetting states and energy barriers.

Abstract

By solving the Young Laplace equation of capillary hydrostatics one can accurately determine equilibrium shapes of droplets on relatively smooth solid surfaces. The solution, however of the Young Laplace equation becomes tricky when a droplet is sitting on a geometrically patterned surface and multiple, and unknown a priori, three phase contact lines have not been accounted for, since air pockets are trapped beneath the liquid droplet. In this work, we propose an augmented Young-Laplace equation, in which a unified formulation for the liquid/vapor and liquid/solid interfaces is adopted, incorporating microscale interactions. This way, we bypass the implementation of the Young's contact angle boundary condition at each three phase contact line. We demonstrate the method's efficiency by computing equilibrium wetting states of entire droplets sitting on geometrically structured surfaces, and compare the results with those of the mesoscopic Lattice Boltzmann simulations. The application of well-established parameter continuation techniques enables the tracing of stable and unstable equilibrium solutions if necessary for the determination of energy barriers separating co-existing stable wettign states. Since energy barriers determine whether a surface facilitates or inhibits certain wetting transitions, their computation is important for many technical applications. Our continuum-level analysis can readily be applied to patterned surfaces with increased and unstructured geometric complexity, having a significant computational advantage, as compared to the computationally demanding mesoscopic simulations that are usually employed for the same task.