Rescaling the dynamics of evaporating drops

TL;DR

This paper investigates the evaporation dynamics of wetting droplets across various sizes, proposing a generalized model that addresses singularities in dissipation and evaporative flux, advancing understanding of a longstanding complex problem.

Contribution

It introduces a generalized model extending Tanner's law to better describe droplet evaporation dynamics and smooth out singularities at the contact line.

Findings

Qualitative agreement with experimental trends

Generalized model smooths out singularities

Progress towards solving a longstanding problem

Abstract

The dynamics of evaporation of wetting droplets has been investigated experimentally in an extended range of drop sizes, in order to provide trends relevant for a theoretical analysis. A model is proposed, which generalises Tanner's law, allowing us to smooth out the singularities both in dissipation and in evaporative flux at the moving contact line. A qualitative agreement is obtained, which represents a first step towards the solution of a very old, complex problem.