Singular points of a moving contact line

It is proposed to represent the dynamics of a moving contact line by an Onsager like mobility relation between the contact angle and the speed of the moving line, including an Arrhenius factor small enough in many physical situations to be the limiting factor for the motion. The liquid-vapor interface is then in quasiequilibrium which allows one to analyse a dynamical wetting transition. This approach predicts well the formation of angular points on the rear edge of droplets sliding on a tilted plane. (C) 2001 Academie des sciences/Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.