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Late stage kinetics for various wicking and spreading problems

Patrick B. Warren
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Abstract

The kinetics of spreading of a liquid drop in a wedge or V-shaped groove, in a network of such grooves, and on a hydrophilic strip, is re-examined. The length of a droplet of volume Omega spreading in a wedge after a time t is predicted to scale as Omega^(1/5) * t^(2/5), and the height profile is predicted to be a parabola in the distance along the wedge. If the droplet is spreading radially in a sparse network of V-shaped grooves on a surface, the radius is predicted to scale as Omega^(1/6) * t^(1/3), provided the liquid is completely contained within the grooves. A number of other results are also obtained.

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BibTeXRIS

Patrick B. Warren. 2003-11-10. Late stage kinetics for various wicking and spreading problems. https://doi.org/10.1103/physreve.69.041601

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