Boundary conditions for the moving contact line problem

The physical processes near a moving contact line are investigated systematically using molecular dynamics and continuum mechanics. Constitutive relations for the friction force in the contact line region, the fluid-fluid interfacial force, and the stresses in the fluid-solid interfacial region are studied. Verification of force balance demonstrates the importance of the normal stress jump across the contact line region. Effective boundary conditions are derived using force balance. It is found that in the flow regime studied, the deviation of the wall contact angle from the equilibrium contact angle is proportional to the velocity of the contact line. The effective continuum model is solved numerically and the behavior of the apparent contact angle and the wall contact angle is studied. It is found that the fluid-fluid interface near the wall exhibits a universal behavior. The onset of the nonlinear response for the contact line motion is studied within the framework of Blake's molecular kinetic theory. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.