Contact Line Instability and Pattern Selection in Thermally Driven Liquid Films
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Abstract
Liquids spreading over a solid substrate under the action of various forces are known to exhibit a contact line instability. We use an example of thermally driven spreading on a horizontal surface to study how this instability can be suppressed, or patterns selected, using feedback control. We show that variation in the temperature imposed behind the contact line and proportional to the deviation of the contact line from its mean position produces a stabilizing effect on the dynamics of long wavelength unstable modes through local changes in the mobility of the liquid film. Theoretical results are supported by numerical simulations of the lubrication equations.Keywords
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