Probing dissipation in spreading drops with granular suspensions

TL;DR

This study investigates how granular suspensions spread on solid surfaces, revealing that their wetting behavior resembles simple fluids but with a unique apparent wetting viscosity influenced by particle size and distribution.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of an apparent wetting viscosity for granular suspensions and explores how particle size and bimodal distributions affect spreading dynamics.

Findings

Wetting dynamics follow a similar relation as simple fluids despite complexity.

Apparent wetting viscosity differs from bulk measurements.

Particle size ratio influences local structure and wetting viscosity.

Abstract

In this article, we study the spreading of droplets of density-matched granular suspensions on the surface of a solid. Bidispersity of the particle size distribution enriches the conclusions drawn from monodisperse experiments by highlighting key elements of the wetting dynamics. In all cases, the relation between the dynamic contact angle and the velocity of the contact line follows a similar relation as that of a simple fluid, despite the complexity introduced by the presence of particles. We extract from this relation an apparent wetting viscosity of the suspensions that differs from that measured in the bulk. Dimensional analysis supported by experimental measurements yields estimate of the size of the region inside the droplet where the value of the dynamic contact angle depends on a balance of viscous dissipation and capillary stresses. Depending on how particle size compares with this viscous cut-off length seems crucial in determining the value of the apparent wetting viscosity. With bimodal blends, the particle size ratio can be used to show the effects of the local structure and volume fraction at the contact line, both impacting the value of the corresponding wetting viscosity.