0000000000294693
AUTHOR
Luca Biferale
Hydrokinetic simulations of nanoscopic precursor films in rough channels
We report on simulations of capillary filling of high-wetting fluids in nano-channels with and without obstacles. We use atomistic (molecular dynamics) and hydrokinetic (lattice-Boltzmann) approaches which point out clear evidence of the formation of thin precursor films, moving ahead of the main capillary front. The dynamics of the precursor films is found to obey a square-root law as the main capillary front, z^2(t) ~ t, although with a larger prefactor, which we find to take the same value for the different geometries (2D-3D) under inspection. The two methods show a quantitative agreement which indicates that the formation and propagation of thin precursors can be handled at a mesoscopic…
Evidence of thin-film precursors formation in hydrokinetic and atomistic simulations of nano-channel capillary filling
We present hydrokinetic Lattice Boltzmann and Molecular Dynamics simulations of capillary filling of high-wetting fluids in nano-channels, which provide clear evidence of the formation of thin precursor films, moving ahead of the main capillary front. The dynamics of the precursor films is found to obey the Lucas-Washburn law as the main capillary front, z2(t) proportional to t, although with a larger prefactor, which we find to take the same value for both geometries under inspection. Both hydrokinetic and Molecular Dynamics approaches indicate a precursor film thickness of the order of one tenth of the capillary diameter. The quantitative agreement between the hydrokinetic and atomistic m…