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Hydrodynamic theory of de-wetting

Jens Eggers
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Abstract

A prototypical problem in the study of wetting phenomena is that of a solid plunging into or being withdrawn from a liquid bath. In the latter, de-wetting case, a critical speed exists above which a stationary contact line is no longer sustainable and a liquid film is being deposited on the solid. Demonstrating this behavior to be a hydrodynamic instability close to the contact line, we provide the first theoretical explanation of a classical prediction due to Derjaguin and Levi: instability occurs when the outer, static meniscus approaches the shape corresponding to a perfectly wetting fluid.

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Jens Eggers. 2003-12-24. Hydrodynamic theory of de-wetting. https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevlett.93.094502

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