A level-set method for large-scale simulations of three-dimensional flows with moving contact lines

Abstract : A new method is presented to perform three-dimensional simulations of two-phase flows with moving contact lines using level-set. To account for the full range of length scales involved in the physical problem under realistic conditions, without having to resolve the flow down to the smallest continuum scale, a dynamic contact angle model based on asymptotic theory is used in conjunction with the computational method. Contact-angle hysteresis is also represented in this methodology. The method is validated against simulations wherein the flow is fully resolved over all length scales, and experiments of spreading droplets and droplets sliding down an inclined substrate.