An experimental investigation of flow fields near a liquid–liquid moving contact line

A moving contact line occurs at the intersection of an interface formed between two immiscible liquids and a solid. According to viscous theory, the flow is entirely governed by just two parameters, the viscosity ratio, λ , and the dynamic contact angle, θ _d . While a majority of experimental studies on moving contact lines involve determining the relationship between the dynamic contact angle and capillary number, a few studies have focused on measuring the flow field in the vicinity of the contact line involving liquid–gas interfaces. However, none of the studies have considered liquid–liquid moving contact lines and the present study fills this vital gap. Using particle image velocimetry, we simultaneously measure the velocity field in both the liquid phases using refractive index-matching techniques. The flow field obtained from experiments in both phases is directly compared against theoretical models. Measurement of interface speed reveals that material points rapidly slow down as the contact line is approached. Further, the experiments also reveal the presence of slip along the moving wall in the vicinity of the contact line suggesting a clear mechanism for how the singularity is arrested at the contact line.