Simulation of micron-scale drop impact

The numerical simulation of droplet impact is of interest for a vast variety of industrial processes, where practical experiments are costly and time-consuming. In these simulations, the dynamic contact angle is a key parameter, but the modeling of its behavior is poorly understood so far. One of the few models which considers the overall physical context of the involved ‘moving contact line problem’ is Shikhmurzaev’s interface formation model (Shikhmurzaev, 2008). In addition to keeping the problem well-posed, all surface and bulk parameters, such as the contact angle, are determined as part of the solution rather than being prescribed functions of contact line speed. In this article, we couple an asymptotic version of the interface formation model with our three-dimensional incompressible two-phase Navier–Stokes solver. Additionally, we employ a simple constant contact angle approach. We compare the results of these two numerical models with those from laboratory experiments for the micron-scale droplet impact on substrates with a variety of wetting characteristics. With our sophisticated asymptotic interface formation model, the droplet shapes, heights and diameters compare very well with practical experiments.