703 Computational Methods for Simulating Thin Fluid Films Including Contact Lines

 

Thin fluid films are of relevance to a number of different applications involving spreading, dewetting due to various types of instabilities, phase changes to either gas or solid phase, and a number of other effects. Modeling and computing the problems involving thin films is difficult since it typically requires solving moving boundary problems. Both modeling and simulations are particularly complicated in the cases where fronts and associated contact lines are present. Such problems are intrinsically multiscale, since film thickness goes to zero there, and multiphysics, since it becomes necessary to include additional forces due to liquid/solid interaction, that are typically not considered within the framework of classical fluid dynamics.

This mini symposium will focus on the recent advances in computing thin film problems, both within commonly used long-wave based approximation, and by implementing full solvers of Navier-Stokes equations based on volume of fluid, phase field, and similar approaches. Both Newtonian and viscoelastic fluid films will be considered. We expect that this mini symposium will be of interest to a number of researchers focusing on computing and modeling, as well as applications of thin film flows.
The mini symposium is very timely, due to a number of recent advances in computing thin film flows, and we expect that this mini symposium will serve to bring together a number of researchers working in this field.