A model for the liquid-mediated collapse of 2-D rough surfaces

Small-scale devices are particularly vulnerable to adverse effects of adhesion because of large surface area to volume ratios. Additionally, small gaps can be easily bridged at high humidity or when there are other contaminant liquids present. The bridging of a portion of an interface by a liquid droplet of given volume tends to pull surfaces in closer proximity due to the sub-ambient pressures that arise. In turn, the area spanned by the bridge will increase and lead to a greater adhesive force. A previous study considering a liquid bridge between two elastic half-spaces initially separated by a uniform gap demonstrated that, under certain conditions, an instability will arise whereby the surfaces come into full contact. Owing to the regularity of the geometry considered, the problem was amenable to a semi-analytical treatment and the stability condition was expressible analytically in terms of a single dimensionless group. In the present work, we develop a model to include the effects of surface roughness. The influence of asperities on the surface is treated by means of a recently developed multi-scale model that considers the full range of wavelengths comprising the surface profile. In the simulations, two nominally flat rough surfaces are brought together under a prescribed load and a liquid bridge of given volume is introduced in the contact, the initial areal coverage being determined by the initial mean surface separation. The interface configuration is then iterated until a configuration is found that satisfies the equations of elasticity and capillarity for the given liquid volume. As a result of the simulation, critical values are found for combinations of parameters that delineate stable and unstable conditions.