Dynamic wetting of Newtonian and viscoelastic fluids on microstructured surfaces

Hypothesis Although extensive research has been conducted on the dynamic wetting of Newtonian fluids, limited insights have been gained for viscoelastic fluids, particularly on engineered surfaces. We hypothesize that differences in dynamic wetting on microstructured surfaces exist between such fluids, which may be attributed to variations in viscosity and elasticity as well as changes in the microscopic morphology of the moving contact line. Experiments To systematically investigate the wetting differences between Newtonian and viscoelastic fluids on microstructured surfaces, we conducted forced wetting experiments of glycerol-water and carboxymethyl cellulose aqueous solutions on microstructured polytetrafluoroethylene surfaces through a modified Wilhelmy plate method. Findings Results demonstrated an apparent difference in the relationship between the dynamic contact angle and moving velocity with different microstructured surfaces for Newtonian and viscoelastic fluids. The power-law exponent between the capillary number and cubic of the dynamic contact angle increases with the strengthening of shear thinning and elastic effects. In contrast, this exponent is rarely influenced by the scale of microstructured surfaces, particularly in highly viscous regions where viscous force dominates. In addition, viscosity affects the viscous bending and distance that liquid molecules jump at the contact line. These findings have potential applications in coating complex fluids on engineered surfaces.