Surface Wetting with Droplets: A Phase Field Approach

In order to be able to predict the static solution of three dimensional wetting scenarios, a free energy functional that is dependent on a continuous order parameter is formulated. This free energy functional can be linked to molecular dynamics (MD) simulations by input parameters. Static equilibrium configurations can be computed by minimizing the overall free energy using an evolution equation of Allen-Cahn type. Details of the presented model are followed by illustrative examples that demonstrate the pertinency of the approach. (© 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim