Geometrical Description of Contact Line Fluctuations in Heterogeneous Systems with Controlled Wettability

The understanding of contact line fluctuations in heterogeneous systems of controlled wettability is relevant to many industrial processes. Despite its importance, it is poorly understood. Here, we present results on an experimental study of fluid displacement on modified Hele-Shaw cells with surface defects as heterogeneities. The system wettability is controlled by defect surface coverage. Three different surface coverage regimes were studied. For each one, the morphology and deformation energy of the displacement front is determined. The width front is described in terms of two exponents, the roughness exponent (alpha) and the one that describes its growth (beta). In all cases, it is found that the width increases logarithmically in time up to a characteristic value, where a crossover to a saturation behavior is observed. The crossover time is a function of the surface coverage. For low coverage 0.51