Effect of phase change and solute diffusion on spreading on a dissolving substrate Original Research Article

Dissolutive wetting is investigated numerically using a diffuse-interface model that incorporates fluid flow, solute diffusion and phase change. A range of materials parameters are investigated: (1) permitting recovery of the hydrodynamic limit by suppressing the dissolution of the substrate and (2) evaluating the role of diffusion. The time history of droplet size, droplet concentration and angles between the interfaces are given. For cases in which convection dominates, the dynamics of spreading agrees with a known hydrodynamic model for spreading of inert fluids. A phase change increases wetting speed, due to a condensation that takes place near the triple junction. There is also a strong dependence of the wetting kinetics on the solute diffusivities. Details of composition changes during spreading are also discussed, such as the composition path of the bulk liquid probed at different locations in the drop.