Adaptive Phase-Field Modeling of Anisotropic Wetting with Line Tension at the Triple Junction

Langmuir. 2015 Sep 1;31(34):9348-55. doi: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.5b02175. Epub 2015 Aug 21.

Abstract

Line tension could affect the contact angle at triple junction, especially in micro- to nanoscale wetting. We have developed an adaptive phase-field model to consider the line tension quantitatively. This model is coupled to the smoothed boundary method for treating the contact line with the solid phase, while the volume constraint is imposed. Our calculated contact angles are in good agreement with the modified Young's equation. Further examples are illustrated for the anisotropic wetting on hydrophilic/hydrophobic stripes and rectangular grooves.