Resolving the microscopic hydrodynamics at the moving contact line

Abstract

The molecular structure of moving contact lines (MCLs) and the emergence of a corresponding macroscopic dissipation have made the MCL a paradigm of fluid dynamics. Through novel averaging techniques that remove capillary waves smearing we achieve an unprecedented resolution in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations and find that they match with the continuum description obtained by finite element method (FEM) down to molecular scales. This allows us to distinguish dissipation at the liquid-solid interface (Navier-slip) and at the contact line, the latter being negligible for the rather smooth substrate considered.