Variational approach to droplet motion on uneven solid surfaces, including contact line dynamics and evaporation

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Tóth, Gyula I, Sibley, David N, Bokányi-Tóth, Agnes J, Tseluiko, Dmitri, Archer, Andrew J
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Tóth, Gyula I
Sibley, David N
Bokányi-Tóth, Agnes J
Tseluiko, Dmitri
Archer, Andrew J
author_facet Tóth, Gyula I
Sibley, David N
Bokányi-Tóth, Agnes J
Tseluiko, Dmitri
Archer, Andrew J
contents We show how dynamical equations for liquid films and drops on uneven surfaces, including contact line dynamics and evaporation/condensation effects, may be formulated as a variational dynamics, generated via Onsager's variational principle. The theory applies in the isothermal overdamped-dynamics limit. We apply this general approach to obtain several well-known results on contact line dynamics and to study drops pinning and sliding on inclined corrugated surfaces. This approach constructs the dynamical equations starting from the free energy of the system and therefore has the advantage that it naturally incorporates the correct equilibrium properties.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_12393
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Variational approach to droplet motion on uneven solid surfaces, including contact line dynamics and evaporation
Tóth, Gyula I
Sibley, David N
Bokányi-Tóth, Agnes J
Tseluiko, Dmitri
Archer, Andrew J
Soft Condensed Matter
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Statistical Mechanics
Dynamical Systems
Fluid Dynamics
We show how dynamical equations for liquid films and drops on uneven surfaces, including contact line dynamics and evaporation/condensation effects, may be formulated as a variational dynamics, generated via Onsager's variational principle. The theory applies in the isothermal overdamped-dynamics limit. We apply this general approach to obtain several well-known results on contact line dynamics and to study drops pinning and sliding on inclined corrugated surfaces. This approach constructs the dynamical equations starting from the free energy of the system and therefore has the advantage that it naturally incorporates the correct equilibrium properties.
title Variational approach to droplet motion on uneven solid surfaces, including contact line dynamics and evaporation
topic Soft Condensed Matter
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
Statistical Mechanics
Dynamical Systems
Fluid Dynamics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.12393