Author(s)

A.M. Alteraifi & B.J. Sasa

Abstract

The role of solid substrate on the spreading kinetics of liquid droplet A.M. Alteraifi & B.J. Sasa Department of Mechanical Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, UAE Abstract Classic hydrodynamic wetting theory leads to a linear relationship between spreading speed and the capillary force, being determined only by the surface tension of the liquid and its viscosity. The theory appears in good agreement with results generated from experiments conducted on the spreading of Polydimethylsiloxanes, PDMS on soda-lime glass substrate and fails to account for the behavior of other liquids. The spreading kinetics of three different liquids (PDMS 1000cp, hexadecane and glycerin) was determined on three different solids, namely, soda-lime glass, polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and polystyrene (PS), which exhibit different critical wetting energies. The results are summed up in two themes; equilibrial spreading and kinetics. PDMS is found to exhibit complete spreading on all three different solids a

Keywords