Spreading of viscous fluid drops on a solid substrate assisted by thermal fluctuations

Benny Davidovitch, Esteban Moro, Howard A. Stone

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

92 Scopus citations

Abstract

We study the spreading of viscous drops on a solid substrate, taking into account the effects of thermal fluctuations in the fluid momentum. A nonlinear stochastic lubrication equation is derived and studied using numerical simulations and scaling analysis. We show that asymptotically spreading drops admit self-similar shapes, whose average radii can increase at rates much faster than these predicted by Tanner’s law. We discuss the physical realizability of our results for thin molecular and complex fluid films, and predict that such phenomenon can in principal be observed in various flow geometries.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article number244505
JournalPhysical review letters
Volume95
Issue number24
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 9 2005
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Physics and Astronomy(all)

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