The moving contact line: the slip boundary condition

Abstract

The singularity at the contact line which is present when the usual fluidmechanical modelling assumptions are made is removed by permitting the fluid to slip along the wall. The aim of this study is to assess the sensitivity of the overall flow field to the form of the slip boundary condition. Explicit solutions are obtained for three different slip boundary conditions. Two length scales emerge: the slip length scale and the meniscus length scale. It is found that on the slip length scale the flow fields are quite different; however, when viewed on the meniscus length scale, i.e. the length scale on which almost all fluidmechanical measurements are made, all of the flow fields appear the same. It is found that the characteristic of the slip boundary condition which affects the overall flow field is the magnitude of the slip length.