Analysis of droplet behavior and breakup mechanisms on wet solid surfaces

Abstract

The behavior and dynamics of droplet spreading are pivotal phenomena that exert a profound influence on numerous scientific disciplines, technological advancements, and natural processes. This study was conducted with the aim to investigate factors influencing the shape and geometry of a liquid droplet on a solid surface using the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM). LBM as a mesoscale numerical fluid simulation has gained increasing popularity among the most favorable numerical methods for simulating multi-phase/multi-component fluid flow in complex geometries. Accordingly, parameters dependency, surface tension, two-phase diagram, and wettability were evaluated in the LBM, and stable and calibrated forms were used for the droplet simulations. Also, an equation was obtained to determine the contact angle in the LBM system with a determination coefficient of 0.988. Then, droplet behavior was examined for its dependency on wettability, interfacial tension, and line tension. The results showed droplets breakup in a certain interfacial tension at high adhesive force. These breakups were due to the force balance in the triple line. They were not monotonic and first decreased and then increased the volume of the droplets.