A simulation method for the wetting dynamics of liquid droplets on deformable membranes

Fuente: arXiv
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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mokbel, Marcel, Mokbel, Dominic, Liese, Susanne, Weber, Christoph A., Aland, Sebastian
Format: Preprint
Published: 2023
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author Mokbel, Marcel
Mokbel, Dominic
Liese, Susanne
Weber, Christoph A.
Aland, Sebastian
author_facet Mokbel, Marcel
Mokbel, Dominic
Liese, Susanne
Weber, Christoph A.
Aland, Sebastian
contents Biological cells utilize membranes and liquid-like droplets, known as biomolecular condensates, to structure their interior. The interaction of droplets and membranes, despite being involved in several key biological processes, is so far little understood. Here, we present a first numerical method to simulate the continuum dynamics of droplets interacting with deformable membranes via wetting. The method combines the advantages of the phase-field method for multi-phase flow simulation and the arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) method for an explicit description of the elastic surface. The model is thermodynamically consistent, coupling bulk hydrodynamics with capillary forces, as well as bending, tension, and stretching of a thin membrane. The method is validated by comparing simulations for single droplets to theoretical results of shape equations, and its capabilities are illustrated in 2D and 3D axisymmetric scenarios.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2312_01817
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A simulation method for the wetting dynamics of liquid droplets on deformable membranes
Mokbel, Marcel
Mokbel, Dominic
Liese, Susanne
Weber, Christoph A.
Aland, Sebastian
Soft Condensed Matter
Computational Engineering, Finance, and Science
Biological Physics
Computational Physics
Subcellular Processes
Biological cells utilize membranes and liquid-like droplets, known as biomolecular condensates, to structure their interior. The interaction of droplets and membranes, despite being involved in several key biological processes, is so far little understood. Here, we present a first numerical method to simulate the continuum dynamics of droplets interacting with deformable membranes via wetting. The method combines the advantages of the phase-field method for multi-phase flow simulation and the arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) method for an explicit description of the elastic surface. The model is thermodynamically consistent, coupling bulk hydrodynamics with capillary forces, as well as bending, tension, and stretching of a thin membrane. The method is validated by comparing simulations for single droplets to theoretical results of shape equations, and its capabilities are illustrated in 2D and 3D axisymmetric scenarios.
title A simulation method for the wetting dynamics of liquid droplets on deformable membranes
topic Soft Condensed Matter
Computational Engineering, Finance, and Science
Biological Physics
Computational Physics
Subcellular Processes
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2312.01817