Molecular Simulations of Dewetting
- 8 May 2000
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review Letters
- Vol. 84 (19) , 4401-4404
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.84.4401
Abstract
We have studied the breakup and subsequent fluid flow in very thin films of partially wetting liquid on solid substrates, using molecular dynamics simulations. The liquid is made of short chain molecules interacting with Lennard-Jones interactions, and the solid is modeled as a clean crystal lattice whose atoms have thermal oscillations. Films below a critical thickness are found to exhibit a spontaneous spinodal-like instability leading to dry patches, as predicted theoretically and observed in some experiments. Liquid withdrawing from a dry patch collects in a moving rim whose fluid dynamics is only partially in agreement with earlier predictions.Keywords
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