On moving contact lines simulated by the single-component two-phase lattice-Boltzmann method.

Abstract

We studied moving contact lines (MCLs) simulated by the single-component two-phase lattice-Boltzmann method (TP-LBM) based on the free-energy theory. In TP-LBM simulations CL moves by evaporation and condensation, and they do not involve an explicit slip length. How the CL motion compares with those by other methods using a slip model is not well understood yet. By comparing the results for a benchmark problem with established analytical solutions, we found an effective slip length proportional to the interface thickness in TP-LBM simulations. Besides, it was found that a recently proposed simple method originally in the framework of LBM for binary fluids can also be applied to TP-LBM to regulate the CL motion, and this method can greatly enhance its capability to simulate realistic two-phase flows with very small slip lengths.