Dewetting films with inclined contact lines

Area of Science:

• Fluid dynamics
• Surface science
• Wetting phenomena

Background:

• Partially wetting plates withdrawn from liquid reservoirs form films with inclined contact lines.
• Experimental data suggest constant normal contact-line velocity, independent of inclination angles.
• Theoretical justification for this experimental observation is lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To theoretically investigate the relationship between contact-line velocity and inclination angle.
• To explain the observed experimental phenomena in liquid film deposition.
• To develop scaling relations for normal velocity and tangential flux.

Main Methods:

• Application of lubrication theory.
• Analysis of microscopic and macroscopic length scale interactions.
• Derivation of scaling relations.

Main Results:

• Contact-line speed-angle independence is an approximation.
• Normal velocity slightly decreases with increasing inclination angle.
• Inclination induces a tangential liquid flux near the contact line.

Conclusions:

• Lubrication theory explains the weak dependence of normal velocity on inclination angle.
• The variation in effective separation of length scales influences this correlation.
• Provided scaling relations offer predictive capabilities for fluid behavior.