Spreading of a Macroscopic Lattice Gas

TL;DR

This paper introduces a mechanical model using metallic balls on a corrugated surface to simulate liquid spreading and wetting phenomena, demonstrating agreement with experimental and theoretical results.

Contribution

It presents a novel mechanical analog model for dynamic wetting, linking macroscopic mechanical behavior to microscopic liquid spreading.

Findings

Model reproduces spreading dynamics observed in experiments

Theoretical estimates align with experimental and simulation data

Mechanical vibration induces diffusional spreading in the model

Abstract

We present a simple mechanical model for dynamic wetting phenomena. Metallic balls spread along a periodically corrugated surface simulating molecules of liquid advancing along a solid substrate. A vertical stack of balls mimics a liquid droplet. Stochastic motion of the balls, driven by mechanical vibration of the corrugated surface, induces diffusional motion. Simple theoretical estimates are introduced and agree with the results of the analog experiments, with numerical simulation, and with experimental data for microscopic spreading dynamics.